August 29

8/29 - NYMEX natural gas futures hit 14-year highs of $9.37 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) last week after Russian state-owned energy exporter Gazprom said it would shut down the Nord Stream natural-gas pipeline to Germany for maintenance this week, from Aug 31 to Sept 2. Russia had already cut pipeline deliveries to Europe by 20%, citing technical issues with its turbines. European officials say Russia is purposely preventing them from stockpiling storage supplies ahead of winter. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union imported about 40% of its natural gas from Russia. The U.S. is now exporting 10% of its total natural gas production in the form of liquified natural gas (LNG), much of it going to the EU. In the U.S., natural gas futures averaged just $2.55 from 2015 through 2020 but look to average close to $7.50 per mmBtu in 2022.