Prompt prices down on ample supply

(Reuters) - British prompt wholesale natural gas prices declined on Friday morning as supply outweighed demand.

Gas for immediate delivery was 0.20 pence lower than the previous settlement, at 29.00 p/therm at 0815 GMT.

Britain's gas system was oversupplied by 6 million cubic metres (mcm), with demand forecast at 324 mcm/day and flows seen at around 330 mcm/day.

Supply is ample. Total's new gas field Laggan-Tormore has started production, with initial flows going into St Fergus TOM.

Not all of the field's 5 billion cubic metre (bcm) per year production rate will come this year but 2 bcm could be expected, consultancy Energy Aspects said.

There are also four liquefied natural gas tankers either docked or expected to arrive by Feb. 19. [LNG/TKUK]

On the demand side, temperatures are expected to decrease at the weekend and into next week, although they will still be milder than average for the time of year.

"Long-range forecasts from the IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) are for warmer than average temperatures to persist across the rest of Q1 2016, Q2 2016, and in July," Energy Aspects said.

Further out on the curve, contracts followed gains in the oil price. The Summer 2016 contract was up 0.25p at 27.35 p/therm.

In the Netherlands, the March gas price at the TTF hub was 0.13 euros higher at 11.98 euros per megawatt-hour.

In the European carbon market, front-year EU allowances were up 0.06 euros at 4.81 euros a tonne.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Mark Potter)