EUROPE GAS-Prices decline on softer demand, LNG production resumption

LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Dutch and British wholesale gas prices declined on Monday morning as demand softened on expectations of stronger wind output and full production resumed at the Wheatstone liquiefied natural gas (LNG) facility after a fault.

The Dutch October contract was down by 1.20 euros at 35.50 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0803 GMT while the November contract was 1.90 euros lower at 43.10 euros/MWh.

The British day-ahead price fell by 5.30 pence to 87.50 pence per therm.

Softer demand from power plants due to stronger winds in north-west Europe and higher production forecasts of French nuclear plants were bearish factors.

LSEG gas analsysts said German wind speeds are expected to surge tomorrow to 750 gigawatt hours per day which is more than double the seasonal average.

Peak wind generation in Britain is forecast at 15.3 gigawatts (GW) on Monday and 17.4 GW on Tuesday, out of total metered capacity of around 22 GW, Elexon data showed.

Chevron said on Monday full production had resumed at its strike-hit Wheatstone LNG in Western Australia after a fault last week cut production by about one-fifth.

Chevron had said it would maintain supplies from the major LNG terminal in the face of disruptions, which intensified over the weekend as workers escalated their strike action to 24-hour stoppages from brief halts and limited bans on certain tasks.

Norwegian flows are nominated higher at 174 million cubic metres (mcm) from 153 mcm on Friday, even though there are several ongoing outages at Norwegian gas infrastructure. The Troll field has another one-day delay to startup.

"The Norwegian grid operator has been rescheduling maintenance of the field for the past few days in a row. The field is expected to start production today at up to 20 mcm/d," said Tomasz Marcin Kowalski, LSEG gas analyst.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract was down 0.76 euro at 81.55 euros a tonne.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney)