EUROPE GAS-Prices rise after fresh Ukraine infrastructure attacks

LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Dutch and British wholesale gas prices rose on Thursday afternoon after initially trading sideways after Russia attacked key gas storage infrastructure in Ukraine at a time of growing concern over the speed of filling up European gas storages.

The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub TRNLTTFMc1 was up 1.18 euro to 32.95 euros per megawatt hour, or $11.21 per mmBtu, at 1507 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The British front-month contract TRGBNBPMc1 traded up 3.34 pence at 82.35 pence per therm, while the day ahead price TRGBNBPD1 was up 1.70 pence at 81.90 pence per therm.

Thursday's gains were likely supported by news of a Russian attack on a gas compressor station in eastern Ukraine that is important for getting gas into storage facilities for the winter heating season, one analyst said.

This could increase Ukraine's gas demand from neighbouring countries over the winter and compromise storage filling in both Ukraine and Europe, the analyst added.

The lack of concrete progress in negotiations to reach a peace deal in Ukraine is likely to continue to support energy markets, analysts at Engie's EnergyScan said in a morning note.

EU gas storage sites were last seen 74.49% full, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed.

While this was not an alarming level, it is still 4.4 percentage points below the 10-year average (2015–2024), and a significant 16 percentage points below last year’s level at the same time, analyst Ole Hvalbye at SEB bank said in a note.

Meanwhile, cross-Atlantic shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) may also be delayed due to storms or hurricanes, analysts at Northern Power & Gas said.

"LNG delays will reduce the pace of gas storage injections ahead of winter, which increases the risk premium of ending winter with gas storages dwindling," they added.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 was up 1.20 euro at 72.49 euros per metric ton.