The European Commission is moving towards establishing a new European benchmark for natural gas that would link the Dutch TTF index, currently providing reference prices for Europe, with the American hub Henry, as well as other indices, including the Japanese and South Korean systems.

Brussels is looking to broaden the scope of the European bloc’s reference pricing system so that it could reflect Europe’s gas imports market with greater accuracy and objectivity.

A new European benchmark will need to also factor in LNG quantities being traded and could be linked with the Japanese and South Korean indices, European sources noted.

European Commission officials explained it would be more appropriate and realistic to establish a new benchmark linked to real supply and demand conditions, rather than relying on the TTF, no longer reflecting the continent’s balance between supply and demand.