Dutch gas transmission firm Gasunie sees rise in first-half revenues

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch gas transmission network operator Gasunie said on Wednesday revenue in the first half rose 25% to 897 million euros ($918 million) as demand for transport capacity rose because of disruptions to Europe's gas market from the Ukraine war.

As a government-owned entity, the revenue would be returned to the market at a later time, Gasunie said in a statement.

The operating result rose 3% to 497 million euros.

The phase-out of Russian gas use meant international gas flows were reversing and were now increasingly running from west to east and from south to north across Europe, Chief Executive Han Fennema said in a statement.

Gasunie transported 573 TWh of gas across all its networks in the first half of 2022, or 3% less than the same period last year. In the Netherlands, Gasunie Transport Services (GTS) transported 15% less natural gas.

"Industries, power stations and regional transmission system operators all consumed less gas due to the considerably higher gas prices and the hotter-than-normal weather," it said.

"Transport volumes to gas storage facilities and to Germany, however, were actually up. In Germany, Gasunie Deutschland transported 38% more natural gas, especially due to increased import flows from Norway."

Gasunie said it had written down the value of its 9% stake in the Nord Stream pipeline, which transports Russian gas for Gazprom to Germany, by 268 million euros and now values it at 240 million euros.

($1 = 0.9775 euros)

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Edmund Blair)