Meanwhile, the European Union is continuing talks about ways to limit spikes in gas prices ahead of a meeting of energy ministers next week.

Benchmark gas futures settled 9.2% higher, following an increase of 16% on Monday. Freeport LNG in Texas will likely extend an outage that began in June, increasing global competition for much-needed supplies right before the winter.

Currently, Rosatom fuel company TVEL supplies fuel for Loviisa’s two VVER 440 reactors.

China and India remain the main destination for Russian crudes in the wake of the Ukraine war, accounting for 58% of all seaborne Russian crude exports in October.

Risks over existing gas supplies from Russia will continue through the coming months, with just one pipeline route open to the biggest European customers.

Currently, the most expensive form of generation -- gas -- sets the price for all electricity that’s sold into the market. That means consumers are bearing the brunt of Russia’s supply cuts to the continent. It also means Europe isn’t feeling much of the benefit of low-cost renewables like wind farms, which get to sell at big margins.

Dutch front-month gas, Europe’s benchmark, traded 2.4% higher at €119 per megawatt-hour by 8:43 a.m. in Amsterdam after losing 5.8% a day earlier.

Europe’s gas storage sites are nearly 95% full, providing a buffer for when the weather turns colder. Reserves in the biggest gas consumer, Germany, have risen to 99%, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.

The recent fall in European gas prices may not last, according to Italian energy major Eni SpA. “It’s a temporary situation,” Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi said in Abu Dhabi. “We have problems in 2023 because in 2023 we don’t have Russian gas.”

The push to fill storage facilities before the start of winter has been successful -- with many close to capacity. But some suppliers may now want to hold back those reserves until they can sell their stored gas at more attractive rates.

Benchmark futures declined as much as 12%, and are about 70% lower from the highs of August.

The REPowerEU plan, which aims to end the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and tackle the climate crisis, will seek to raise the share of renewables in the region’s final energy consumption to 45% by 2030.

Benchmark futures declined as much as 4.8% on Friday and headed for a third straight weekly loss.

Germany stuck to its refusal to cap gas prices and the 27 could only agree to disagree, declaring they will keep on examining options to put a ceiling on costs.

"If we continue to meet our savings target of at least 20% in Germany, if three LNG terminals start operating at the beginning of next year at the latest, and if the expected winter-related decline in imports and the rise in currently low exports remain moderate, then we can get through the winter without a national gas emergency," he said in a statement.