Norwegian gas infrastructure operator Gassco has restarted the Kaarstoe processing plant, a key hub for gas supplies to Germany, and is ramping up output following three weeks of maintenance, the company said on Friday.
"Kaarstoe is in the start-up phase after a complex and extensive maintenance shutdown," a Gassco spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Several fields, pipelines, hubs and receiving terminals connected to Kaarstoe also underwent maintenance during the same period and any unforeseen delays to works there may affect the processing plant's ramp-up speed, the spokesperson added.
The maintenance and repair of Norwegian gas infrastructure, which includes offshore platforms, subsea pipelines and onshore terminals, is closely watched by the market and unplanned outages can have a particularly strong impact on prices.
The Kaarstoe plant, which can export 97.6 million cubic metres (mcm) per day when operating at full capacity, has been offline for annual maintenance since Aug. 30 and was scheduled to gradually come back on stream from Friday.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and reduced shipments of Russian energy, Norway has become Europe's largest gas supplier.
The restart of deliveries via Kaarstoe comes just ahead of the official winter heating season in the European gas market, which starts on Oct. 1 and typically sees the highest demand of the year.
(Reuters - Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik and Susan Fenton)