Eastward Yamal gas flows from Germany to Poland steady

MOSCOW — Gas flows from Germany to Poland via the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which usually sends Russian gas westwards into Europe, were steady over the weekend and on Monday morning, data from German network operator Gascade showed.

The pipeline, which usually accounts for about a sixth of Russia’s annual gas exports to Europe and Turkey, has been operating in reverse mode since Dec. 21, putting upward pressure on European gas prices.

Eastbound flows were at 5.9 million kilowatt hours per hour (kWh/h) on Monday, broadly in line with volumes seen over the weekend, data from the Mallnow metering point on the German-Polish border showed. Flows are expected to remain around this level until the early hours of Tuesday.

European benchmark gas prices jumped to a record 184.95 euros per megawatt hours (MWh) on Dec. 21 when the Yamal system reversed flow.

High prices have discouraged purchases of spot volumes from Russia, with buyers instead tapping stored gas in Europe, where storage levels have fallen below their five-year average.

Capacity nominations for supply to Slovakia from Ukraine via the Velke Kapusany border point, another major route for Russian gas deliveries to Europe, stayed below this year’s highest point on Monday.

Nominations were seen at 513,619 megawatt hours (MWh), only the fourth time the figure has been above 500,000 MWh in January. In the previous month, the nominations never dropped below 739,000 MWh. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin Additional reporting by Robert Muller in Prague Editing by Mark Potter)