European natural gas prices still looked like a roller coaster on Friday. After having exceeded the level of 100 euros per MWh, the Dutch reference price fell sharply on Friday followingnoon, below 90 euros. The news of a possible increase in production from the main Dutch gas field put pressure on prices.
The announcement put an end to a rally that saw gas prices on the Dutch futures market, which serves as a benchmark in Europe, rise 30% this week.
Gasunie, the manager of the overseas gas network, announced that over a 12-month period from September to September, production from the Groningen field should reach 7.6 billion cubic meters, while a previous projection had reported 3.9 billion cubic meters.
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The exploitation of these reserves will however be stopped subsequently due to numerous earthquakes caused by decades of gas exploitation.
Gas prices have risen sharply in recent months amid low stocks in Europe and geopolitical tensions.
