The price of European gas rose for the third time in a week

Natural gas prices in Europe have had the longest streak of weekly growth this year as the prolonged closure of a key U.S. export facility further tightens the market, which is already recovering from Moscow's supply cuts.

Benchmark futures rose as much as 6.1% to move forward during the third week. The Freeport LNG project now plans to resume partial work in October, a month later than previously expected. This will put additional strain on European companies and governments to ensure sufficient supplies to fill storage sites by winter, while continuing to combat the risk of power outages.

"Extending the blackout once again at Freeport will be a key blow to Europe, as securing supplies for the winter" will be much more difficult, said Tom Marzetz-Manser, head of gas analytics at ICIS in London. "As the length of the outage approaches winter, concerns about further expansions will grow as European demand begins to strengthen."

Europe has been at the center of an energy crisis for months now, playing a huge role in slowing economic growth and rising inflation. Russia has cut supplies via a major pipeline by 60%, and this month it is planned to completely stop the connection for maintenance. Germany expressed doubts that Nord Stream would resume deliveries after the work.

Dutch gas futures in the first month, the European benchmark, were 2.3% higher at 147.78 euros per megawatt-hour in Amsterdam. Earlier, they rose to the highest intraday level since March 10. The British equivalent sank by 3%.

U.S. liquefied natural gas is playing an increasingly important role in Europe, helping to fill some of the gaps left by my Moscow cuts. According to the International Energy Agency, for the first time the U.S. last month supplied more gas to Europe than Russia sends through pipelines.

The Freeport facility in Texas was closed in early June after the explosion. The project accounts for about 15% of all U.S. fuel exports, including to Europe. Before normal operations can resume at the facility, Freeport must take a number of corrective actions and provide weekly updates, according to a federal notice Thursday. Full production is likely only by the end of the year, the project operator said.     

Supply risks are spreading across the European economy and are putting a growing strain on traders and utilities, increasing their financing needs. German energy giant Uniper SE is seeking help from the government as it has been forced to buy more expensive gas from the spot market to make up for Russia's shortfall. 

In addition, Russia plans to reshuffle ownership of the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas project, which could further narrow global markets, pushing Japan to compete with Europe for alternative sources of supply.