Russia continues the big gas game with Europe
Last week was rich in gas news. Gas prices went down after the instructions of Vladimir Putin. And on the weekend it became known about the stoppage of fuel supplies from Russia to the EU via the Yamal-Europe pipeline. All this happened against the backdrop of the G20 summit in Rome
There were expectations that the gas crisis would be discussed at the G20 summit and loud statements would be made. But all the loudest happened not in Rome, but in Moscow, and not during the summit, but before it. At the end of last week, Vladimir Putin instructed Gazprom to supply gas to Austria and Germany. And the head of the corporation, Alexey Miller, will begin the scheduled filling of European gas storage facilities. Against this background, prices for blue fuel in Europe went down and approached the level of $ 800 per thousand cubic meters.
A reasonable question arose. Does this mean that Nord Stream 2 will start working in November, through which the announced deliveries will probably go? Moreover, earlier in Germany reportedthat certification of the pipe does not threaten the reliability of gas supplies to Germany and the EU. However, the final decision is still far away and gas will go through old pipes, said Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund:
Igor Yushkov Lead Analyst, National National Energy Security “
But after that another, no less important event happened. The German operator reported that gas supplies from Russia to the EU via the aforementioned Yamal-Europe gas pipeline stopped… Through this pipe, fuel goes to Germany through Belarus and Poland. By the way, it was built in the late 90s as an alternative route bypassing Ukraine. Gazprom said that all European consumers are working. From which it turns out that there are no applications.
But against the backdrop of Putin’s orders to increase supplies, these messages take on special meaning. We are not going to increase volumes through Ukraine, and we had to supply earlier, but Gazprom did not book additional capacities. There is Nord Stream 1, but Russia, according to European standards, can only fill it by half, and in order to increase the flow, a separate European permit will be required. So it’s not very clear how the products of the president’s order will be.
Along with the announcement of the suspension of gas pumping through Yamal – Europe, there was information that physical reverse deliveries had begun through the pipeline (there really is such a possibility). And this can be interpreted as Poland’s desire to buy additional gas in Germany. But we are talking more about a technical issue, expert of the oil and gas information agency, candidate of technical sciences Alexander Khurshudov:
Alexander Khurshudov Expert of the Oil and Gas Information Agency, Candidate of Technical Sciences
At the G20 summit, we did talk a little about gas. French President Macron declaredthat Russia and Gazprom should not be held responsible for the energy crisis. And so that it does not happen again, there should be renewable energy sources. But practice has shown that they do not always work. And when demand rises, prices skyrocket. And this is already reflected in long-term contracts, from those pegged to the exchange. It is not without reason that Poland, due to high prices, recently asked Gazprom for a discount on fuel. Game continues. Europe has received a signal that Russia is ready to increase supplies. And at the same time I saw the gas valve shut off in the cold season. And even if the reasons are justified, but the sensations are probably strong.
