LONDON: Prompt natural gas prices in Britain rose on Thursday as lower supplies from Norway led to an undersupplied system.
Prices for within-day delivery were trading at 49.50 pence per therm at 0808 GMT, up 0.15 pence since their last settlement.
With supply flows at about 158.2 million cubic metres (mcm) per day on Thursday and demand expected to be about 174.5 mcm, the system was 16.3 mcm undersupplied, National Grid data showed.
Norwegian imports via Langeled were around 25 mcm/d on Thursday according to National Grid data, down from around 30 mcm on Wednesday.
Langeled is Britain's main sub-sea gas import route with a total capacity of around 70 mcm/d.
A maintenance round at a gas field off Norway due to start on Thursday will cut gas output by a greater amount, but for a shorter time, than earlier planned, North Sea infrastructure operator Gassco said late on Wednesday.
The unnamed field will see its gas output reduced by 47 million cubic metres per day, up from an earlier announced reduction of 27 mcm per day. But the maintenance will end on Sept. 29 instead of Oct. 1, Gassco said on its website.
Further along the curve, the Winter 2014 gas contract was 0.05 pence higher at 58.45 pence per therm.
Traders said the gas price curve could be influenced on Friday by the outcome of talks, due to be held that day, between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union on resolving a gas-pricing dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
Norwegian gas exports were expected to increase slightly this winter thanks to new gas fields and the end of maintenance at the country's biggest field, Troll, analysts at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon said in their winter outlook on Wednesday.
The Nordic country is Europe's second-biggest gas supplier behind Russia, but its importance has grown since the Ukraine crisis has increased the risk of disruption to Russian gas flows via Ukraine.
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