Common Questions

What is PSV and how does it differ from TTF?

PSV (Punto di Scambio Virtuale) is Italy's virtual gas trading hub, operated by Snam Rete Gas. Unlike TTF (the Dutch hub), PSV prices Italian gas and reflects the cost of LNG entering the country via the Adriatic LNG and Livorno terminals. PSV typically trades at a premium to TTF when Italian demand or southern European supply tightness is elevated.Source: Snam Rete Gas / ICIS

Why does the PSV price matter for LNG cargoes arriving at Adriatic LNG?

Adriatic LNG send-out flows directly into the Italian PSV network. When the PSV-TTF spread is wide, Adriatic LNG is the more valuable destination for Atlantic-origin cargoes versus northwest European terminals. In 2026, QatarEnergy routed cargoes via Golden Pass in Texas to Adriatic LNG after closing the Hormuz route.Source: european-energy-markets briefing

What affects the PSV-TTF gas price spread?

The PSV-TTF spread widens when Italian or southern European supply is tight relative to the northwest European market. Key drivers include Algerian and Libyan pipeline volumes, LNG availability at Italian import terminals, and Central European hub basis dynamics. The spread compressed toward EUR 0.41/MWh in June 2026 as the EU's 17 June Russian gas ban was priced as a legal marker only.Source: european-energy-markets briefing

Background

PSV is directly downstream of the Adriatic LNG terminal off the Italian coast, which receives Atlantic-routed cargoes from QatarEnergy's Golden Pass US equity position, the 15,000 km Texas-to-Adriatic detour that has been QatarEnergy's primary European route since Force majeure on Ras Laffan Hormuz exports in March 2026. The PSV-TTF spread is therefore a live signal for whether QatarEnergy's rerouted volumes are fully clearing into the Italian market or creating surplus pressure that pushes the basis down. On 11 June 2026, the CEGH-TTF spread, the closest daily-published proxy for the Central European basis including PSV, compressed to EUR 0.41/MWh from a EUR 2-plus premium through May, confirming that markets are pricing the 17 June EU short-term Russian gas import ban as a legal event only, not a structural supply disruption, given that long-term TurkStream contracts exempted until 30 September 2027 carry the bulk of Hungarian and Slovak supply.

The Punto di Scambio Virtuale (PSV) is Italy's national virtual gas trading hub, operated by Snam Rete Gas, Italy's gas transmission system operator. As a virtual title-transfer point, it is where gas ownership changes hands on the Italian high-pressure network without requiring physical delivery at a specific location. PSV is the primary price reference for Italian gas consumers and the entry point through which Adriatic LNG and Livorno regasification terminals inject Atlantic-origin LNG into the domestic network.

PSV prices are assessed daily by ICIS and S&P Global Platts. The PSV-TTF spread is the key routing signal for Atlantic LNG cargo operators choosing between the Adriatic LNG terminal (connecting to PSV) and northwest European terminals connecting to TTF or NBP. A wide PSV premium attracts cargoes to Italian regasification; compression toward TTF makes northwest European terminals the preferred destination. Key supply inputs to PSV include Algerian pipeline gas (Trans-Mediterranean), Libyan pipeline gas (Greenstream), and regasified LNG from the Adriatic LNG and Livorno FSRU terminals.

For European energy market monitoring, PSV sits within the Central European hub basis complex alongside CEGH (Austria), NCG and Gaspool (Germany), and ZTP (Belgium). These hubs typically trade at premiums to TTF that reflect locational tightness as Russian pipeline supply shifted from east-entry (via Ukraine and TurkStream) to west-entry (via Atlantic LNG). ACER's winter 2026 wholesale gas report logged Central European hub premiums above EUR 2/MWh through May 2026, narrowing sharply to EUR 0.41/MWh by 11 June as markets priced the EU's 17 June short-term Russian gas import ban as a legal marker rather than a supply event.