Russia has dramatically cut gas supplies to Europe in recent weeks.
Odd Andersen | Afp | Getty Images
Russia’s energy giant Gazprom halted gas flows to Europe through a major pipeline on Wednesday, citing maintenance work on its only remaining compressor.
Gas flows through Nord Stream 1, which runs from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, are expected to be suspended from August 31 to September 3.
The shutdown had been announced in advance, with Gazprom saying in midAugust that gas flows would be suspended for a period of three days for maintenance work.
Gazprom previously said gas transport would resume at a rate of 33 million cubic meters per day when maintenance work is completed “provided no malfunctions are identified”.
The temporary halt in supplies reflects a deepening gas dispute between Russia and the European Union and underscores both the risk of a recession and a winter shortage.
Russia has sharply cut gas supplies to Europe in recent weeks, with flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline operating at just 20% of the agreed volume.
Moscow has previously blamed faulty and delayed equipment for the sharp drop in gas supplies.
Germany, however, sees the supply cut as a political maneuver designed to sow uncertainty across the bloc and drive up energy prices amid the Kremlin’s crackdown on Ukraine.
European policymakers are currently struggling to secure gas supplies to underground facilities in order to have enough fuel to keep homes warm during the colder months.
These gas injections have developed faster than expected.
“Full Bunkering Mode”
“Europe is in full bunkering mode and is not taking any risks with Russian supplies heading into winter,” Wei Xiong, senior analyst at energy consultancy Rystad Energy, said in a research note.
The latest data compiled by industry group Gas Infrastructure Europe shows that global storage levels in the EU are at an average of more than 80%, while Germany’s underground storage is nearly 84% full.
Rystad’s Xiong said gas storage in Europe was only 66 percent full in the same period in 2021, “although the cost would have been significantly lower.”
Germany, until recently, bought more than half of its gas from Russia. And the government is now scrambling to shore up gas supplies in the winter amid fears Moscow could soon turn off the taps entirely.
It had expected gas storage levels to reach 75% on September 1, with the next federally mandated targets set at 85% on October 1 and 95% on November 1.
“Ahead of schedule injections are providing some relief to concerns about supply disruptions in Russia,” Xiong said.
“The risk to European winter supplies remains, however, given low transmissions from Russia and steppedup maintenance on Nord Stream 1, storage levels could be vulnerable.”