MARKETS: Biomethane assessment jumps 11% as European gas surges

(SpaceEnergy) The SE European Biomethane Assessment (SE EBA) jumped 11.1% in the week ending 14 September to 105.35 points as European natural gas prices surged on tightening supply concerns.

The increase from 94.82 a week earlier was the largest weekly gain in the data shown since July and took the assessment above 100 points for the first time since its launch on 1 June 2026.

European benchmark TTF gas, the principal market input shown in the assessment, rose to €83.68/MWh from €73.15/MWh, a 14.4% weekly increase.

Energy consultancy AleaSoft Energy Forecasting said TTF front-month futures reached €82.05/MWh on 10 September, their highest settlement since December 2022, before ending 11 September at €79.52/MWh, 11% higher week on week.

“Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continued to restrict liquefied natural gas arrivals from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates,” AleaSoft said, adding that higher European demand also supported prices.

Biomethane competes with and can substitute for fossil natural gas in existing gas infrastructure. Higher conventional gas prices can therefore strengthen the market value of biomethane, although certification, production costs and individual supply contracts mean the two markets do not move identically.

Once upgraded to methane specification and, where required, liquefied, renewable methane can provide the same CH4 molecule used by methalox rocket engines.

Its market development could therefore eventually provide launch operators with a lower-carbon alternative to fossil-derived methane, subject to fuel-purity, handling and economic requirements.

The latest increase extends a sustained rise in SE EBA, which has climbed 66.1% from 63.42 points on 15 June to 105.35.