European Gas Prices Drop As Norway Stops Strike

Natural gas prices in Europe fell after the Norwegian government put an end to the strike in the energy sector, according to the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG).

The NOG "proposed compulsory arbitration of the pay dispute", following an announcement on Monday that the unions, which represent the majority of energy workers in the country, called on workers to go on strike because they could not reach an agreement on wages.

The price of natural gas per megawatt-hour for August contracts in Europe, trading on the Netherlands-based virtual natural gas trading point (TTF), fell to €154.5 ($158.4) at 10.50 a.m. local time (0750 GMT) on Wednesday.

Natural gas prices showed a 6.4% drop on Wednesday, down from €165 ($169.2) on Tuesday's closing.

Although the strike started at three offshore fields on Tuesday, the union announced that work would be halted at three more sites on July 6 if the dispute is not resolved.

The government intervened before the dispute escalated and said the National Pay Board would settle the strike.

If the strike had continued to suspend gas flow, it would have halted 56% of Norwegian gas exports to Europe, the NOG confirmed. -