In this week's Market Movers Europe with Vivian Iroanya:
- First OPEC+ meeting of 2023
- Germany's new LNG units
- Belgium's 1-GW Tihange-2 retires
- UK-France interconnector at full 2 GW
- Panamax coal freight at 2020 levels
In oil, results season kicks off for Europe's oil and gas majors. Shell reports on Thursday, with CEO Wael Sawan presenting for the first time since taking up his post at the start of the year.
On Wednesday, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee of OPEC+ holds its first meeting of 2023.
The EU's Russian oil import ban and G7 price cap will dominate the discussion, alongside the outlook for China and the wider economy. For now, with prices pushing higher again, the group is thought likely to stick with existing quotas.
In gas, Germany's new floating LNG units are swinging into action, with cargo deliveries at the Lubmin and Brunsbüttel sites.
The facility at Brunsbüttel is expected to start sending gas into the grid imminently.
Floating units are now in place at three site after an unprecedented buildout operation, and three more should be ready by the end of 2023, helping to replace Russian pipeline gas imports.
In power, Belgium's 1 GW Tihange-2 reactor will close on Tuesday, removing a fifth of the country's installed nuclear capacity
Meanwhile the IFA-1 interconnector between France and the UK is set to return to its full 2 GW capacity after fire damage in 2021.
And in France itself, three more reactors are set to restart this week, potentially extending the current bearish trend in power prices.
Finally, vessel oversupply in the Atlantic Basin is pushing Panamax freight rates to multiyear lows, despite robust growth in demand for coal shipments to Rotterdam.
Looking forward, dry bulk players will be closely watching the COVID situation in China following the Lunar New Year holidays, hoping for positive signs to provide some relief for a battered market.
I'm Vivian Iroanya, thank you for kicking off your Monday with S&P Global Commodity Insights.