Platts: LNG market in 'temporary glut': Gas Natural CEO

The CEO of Spain's largest LNG player, Gas Natural, said Tuesday he is not worried by recent market declines in spot prices and volumes, putting them down to a "temporary glut", adding that the company's strategy of long-term contracts buffers it from spot price shocks.

LNG for first half December delivery in southwest Europe was assessed at $9.95/MMBtu Monday, which compares to an October 1 assessment of $12.66/MMBtu for the same contract.

"The spot will adjust rapidly to the non-spot market where volumes are much larger. We don't see a drop in demand for the non spot market," Gas Natural CEO Rafael Villaseca told analysts.

He said a lot of the excess product in the northern hemisphere had been caused by mild weather at the start of the year, while other market sources have attributed high storage stocks to worries about the reliability of supplies of Russian gas through Ukraine during the winter.
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