European gas prices will be high this winter, Equinor CEO says

Equinor, Europe’s second-largest gas supplier after Gazprom, expects high gas prices this winter due to very low gas inventories in Britain and the European Union, Equinor Chief Executive Anders Opedal told Reuters.

“We think that there will be high (gas) prices during the winter. Which level, I don’t know, but it will be a very strong market. It will be challenging for citizens in the UK, Europe and some of the industry,” Opedal said in an interview after presenting the company’s third-quarter results.

If Europe and Asia experience a mild winter, the market might be on track to balance the demand and supply by end of the winter and in the spring, he said.

“But a normal winter and colder than normal winter would be a lot of strain on the gas supply, especially, if we see LNG (liquefied natural gas) continues going to Asia and we don’t see a change in gas supplies from Russia.”