British Gas Prices Fall as Norwegian Processing Plant Returns to Operation

British gas prices have fallen following the news that Norway’s Ormen Lange gas processing plant is scheduled to return to operation after being closed down for maintenance.  The restart of the Ormen Lange plant is expected to increase gas flow between Norway and Britain, via the Langeled underwater pipeline, to 35 million cubic metres per day.

Gas prices fell promptly to 58.20 pence per therm, despite the UK market being undersupplied.

Other factors also contributed to the fall in price, such as the fall in coal prices to under $90 per tonne, which made coal more competitive with gas, raising concerns that the demand for gas may diminish in the UK.

At the same time, a revision of the weather forecasts earlier this week revealed that local countries who generally import British gas will experience warmer weather than normal, reducing their demand and leaving Britain with a larger domestic supply.

On Wednesday the gas demand was noted at 240 million cubic metres per day, ten percent less than normal for this time of year.

By. James Burgess of Oilprice.com