TURIN. It could be the turning point, the herald of the end of the energy and inflation problems: yesterday the price of gas lost another 15% during negotiations, collapsing to the lowest since December 2021, i.e. since before the war between Russia and Ukraine , and in the meantime, the way is being prepared for joint European purchases of methane on international markets, a goal that was set yesterday in Brussels by the spring, in order to obtain even better conditions thanks to large volumes. If it were just an impromptu drop in price, a curiosity of the day, it wouldn’t deserve to talk about it, but the downward trend has been consolidating for months, so the hope of light at the end of the tunnel does not seem groundless.
The European reference
On the TTF market of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, which is the reference throughout Europe, yesterday’s minimum for natural gas was 54.40 euros per MegaWatt/hour (closing at 56.40), a price that was not seen for 14 months, to be compared with the almost 343 euros of last August 26, when it seemed that the economy of Europe and Italy would collapse. There has been a decline since then, aided by a faster-than-imagined conversion to alternative suppliers to Russia, surprisingly easy stock replenishment, and also an autumn/winter season that is not terribly cold in Europe. This morning the price is up slightly: +2.8% to 57 euros per megawatt hour, in any case at the levels of December 2021. Then it started to fall again: -3.5% to 53.5 euros.
Brussels move
Yesterday in Brussels the EU Commission and the representatives of the 27 governments discussed the creation of a consortium of European gas companies to negotiate with international suppliers and guarantee better prices for the continental market; in February, the platform’s steering committee will meet with the aim of launching joint purchases before the summer.
The words of the CEO Eni
Meanwhile, ENI’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, met Egyptian President al-Sisi in Cairo: they discussed “Eni’s current and future activities in Egypt, with a focus on the ongoing exploration campaign, whose preliminary results are already positive, and which has the potential to allow exports to grow rapidly, leveraging the capacity available in the company’s assets on the Mediterranean coast».