Released November 29, 2021 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The European gas crisis continues to worsen, with prices now running at five times higher than last year, while a key gas-transit country, Belarus, is threatening to cut supplies to the European Union (EU) over sanctions.
In the past week, Benchmark European gas prices jumped a further 10% after Germany's energy regulator halted the approval process for Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, delaying its start-up date again. It stated that the Swiss-based "Nord Stream 2 AG" operating company first needed to become compliant with German law. The move marks another chapter in what has become the most geopolitically sensitive pipeline project between Russia and the EU. Russia has already been accused by a number of EU nations of choking off gas exports to Europe in order to force through the approval for the pipeline. Nord Stream 2 is a US$11 billion subsea pipeline with two parallel 48-inch wide pipelines, running 1,200-kilometers between St. Petersburg through the territories and waters of a number of EU countries before landing at Greifswald on the German coast. It was officially completed in September, despite sanctions from the U.S.. For additional information, see September 21, 2021, article--Russia Completes Nord Stream 2 Pipeline.
Europe relies on Russia for around 40% of its supply, with three quarters of that coming through Ukraine and Belarus. Russian supplies via Ukraine have been heavily curtailed in recent years due to conflict in the Crimea region of the country where Russia is backing pro-Russian separatists. Belarus has recently threatened to cut gas supplies to Europe via the Yamal-Europe pipeline in response to sanctions against it. Belarus has been causing severe tensions with its EU neighbours, Poland in particular, by transporting thousands of Middle Eastern migrants to the Belarus-Polish border and helping them cross into Poland illegally. The EU has condemned the actions and the resulting humanitarian crisis, with thousands of people stranded on the border, and has threatened new sanctions. Russian-backed Belarus Prime Minister, Alexander Lukashenko told ministers: "We heat Europe, and they are still threatening us that they'll shut the borders. And what if we cut off [the transit of] natural gas to them? So I would recommend that the leadership of Poland, Lithuanian and other brainless people to think before they speak."
Last month, Industrial Info reported that Norway's Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger) was granted permission by its government to boost supplies to the EU to help mitigate the gas crisis. Europe has seen gas prices soar in the past year due to a number of factors including weak gas stocks after last winter's cold snap, poor wind power generation levels in recent months and disruption to the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For additional information, see October 4, 2021, article--Norway's Equinor Ramps up Gas Exports to Help EU Crisis.
In related news, Gazprom (PINK:OGAZPY) (Moscow), threatened to cut off gas supplies to Moldova within 48 hours if it failed to pay the US$73 million it owed for recent shipments. Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries and a former Soviet republic, sits between Russia and EU Member State, Romania, and relies almost exclusively on Russian gas. It wants a closer relationship with the West and the EU. A three-year contract with Gazprom ended in September and the nations failed to agree on a new deal. Gazprom reduced flows and increased prices as a result, forcing the country to call a state of emergency. The latest threat arrives even though a new five-year deal was agreed in principle. The EU has accused Russia of "weaponizing" gas supplies. Vadim Ceban, head of Moldova's state-run energy company Moldovagaz--which is part-owned by Gazprom--told Reuters: "The state energy company received such a notification from Gazprom, saying the sum amounted to 1.3 billion Moldovan lei (US$73.5 million). We are actively working with the government to solve the problem by the deadline stipulated in the notification. I hope that we will manage to solve this problem."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
In the past week, Benchmark European gas prices jumped a further 10% after Germany's energy regulator halted the approval process for Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, delaying its start-up date again. It stated that the Swiss-based "Nord Stream 2 AG" operating company first needed to become compliant with German law. The move marks another chapter in what has become the most geopolitically sensitive pipeline project between Russia and the EU. Russia has already been accused by a number of EU nations of choking off gas exports to Europe in order to force through the approval for the pipeline. Nord Stream 2 is a US$11 billion subsea pipeline with two parallel 48-inch wide pipelines, running 1,200-kilometers between St. Petersburg through the territories and waters of a number of EU countries before landing at Greifswald on the German coast. It was officially completed in September, despite sanctions from the U.S.. For additional information, see September 21, 2021, article--Russia Completes Nord Stream 2 Pipeline.
Europe relies on Russia for around 40% of its supply, with three quarters of that coming through Ukraine and Belarus. Russian supplies via Ukraine have been heavily curtailed in recent years due to conflict in the Crimea region of the country where Russia is backing pro-Russian separatists. Belarus has recently threatened to cut gas supplies to Europe via the Yamal-Europe pipeline in response to sanctions against it. Belarus has been causing severe tensions with its EU neighbours, Poland in particular, by transporting thousands of Middle Eastern migrants to the Belarus-Polish border and helping them cross into Poland illegally. The EU has condemned the actions and the resulting humanitarian crisis, with thousands of people stranded on the border, and has threatened new sanctions. Russian-backed Belarus Prime Minister, Alexander Lukashenko told ministers: "We heat Europe, and they are still threatening us that they'll shut the borders. And what if we cut off [the transit of] natural gas to them? So I would recommend that the leadership of Poland, Lithuanian and other brainless people to think before they speak."
Last month, Industrial Info reported that Norway's Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger) was granted permission by its government to boost supplies to the EU to help mitigate the gas crisis. Europe has seen gas prices soar in the past year due to a number of factors including weak gas stocks after last winter's cold snap, poor wind power generation levels in recent months and disruption to the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For additional information, see October 4, 2021, article--Norway's Equinor Ramps up Gas Exports to Help EU Crisis.
In related news, Gazprom (PINK:OGAZPY) (Moscow), threatened to cut off gas supplies to Moldova within 48 hours if it failed to pay the US$73 million it owed for recent shipments. Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries and a former Soviet republic, sits between Russia and EU Member State, Romania, and relies almost exclusively on Russian gas. It wants a closer relationship with the West and the EU. A three-year contract with Gazprom ended in September and the nations failed to agree on a new deal. Gazprom reduced flows and increased prices as a result, forcing the country to call a state of emergency. The latest threat arrives even though a new five-year deal was agreed in principle. The EU has accused Russia of "weaponizing" gas supplies. Vadim Ceban, head of Moldova's state-run energy company Moldovagaz--which is part-owned by Gazprom--told Reuters: "The state energy company received such a notification from Gazprom, saying the sum amounted to 1.3 billion Moldovan lei (US$73.5 million). We are actively working with the government to solve the problem by the deadline stipulated in the notification. I hope that we will manage to solve this problem."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
