Lies, lies and more lies – VG

From Finland, they can look through Russia. There, the Russians burn their precious gas. Rather than selling it in Europe.

According to the BBC, on the way the flames from a gas plant north-west of St. Petersburg. NRK also has related to the case.

This is the gas that Putin previously sold to the west, according to Rystad Energi. Russia could have made millions every day. And at the same time it avoided energy shortages in neighboring countries.

Putin blames everyone else.

At a meeting with its ministers and energy leaders last October he said that high energy prices in Europe are due to stupid and hasty decisions in the EU, short contracts and climate policy.

As if it had nothing to do with it. For a year now, it has caused market turmoil and raised prices.

And now the Finns can see the gas burn.

If someone makes the Russians talk, it is probably also a “technical error”. Some experts keep this possibility open. But such explanations have proven time and again to be lies on the Russian side.

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Because the Russians use gas as a weapon. They did it from before the invasion.

In the last quarter of 2021, Russia delivered nearly 25% less gas than in the same quarter of the previous year, while at the same time emptying European stocks. Prices have gone up significantly.

The country, which in all these years has boasted of being a stable supplier, has stopped honoring its agreements.

Many are concerned that high energy prices have a lot to do with Putin’s other policies. And there are many reasons. But the elephant in the room is clearly visible.

In the large Nord Stream pipeline, the Russians have recently used only 20 percent of the capacity.

Next week, exports will be completely halted for three days. Due to maintenance, the Russian state. The fear is that this will continue.

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Because you can no longer trust what the Russians say. We are constantly being served excuses and lies. And so it has been for a long time.

Again and again, maintenance is used as a pretext. Putin says the technical challenges are the explanation. But at the same time there is spare capacity in the other gas pipes that the Russians could use.

And while Russia says sanctions make it impossible to fix things, the West lifted sanctions just to get the maintenance done.

The Germans even positioned their chancellor in front of a completely overhauled turbine, took a picture and asked the Russians to indicate where they want it to be delivered.

Also nothing happens.

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European countries are paying a fortune to obtain gas from other sources, such as the USA, Africa and Qatar. They need to replenish their supplies.

It’s going pretty well. But it is expensive. Also, they have to save.

Germans shower in cold water in public toilets. Finns warn that there could be a blackout in families. Companies are putting a stop to the production of methanol, artificial fertilizers and a number of other things.

There are no smart moves that can solve this problem in the short term. Energy support and grants do nothing to address the main problem, which is the lack of energy.

And at the same time, the Russians are consuming the energy the world needs. It is bad, not least for even poorer countries outside Europe, which cannot afford gas.

The problem for Russia, however, is that they have too much gas. They have nowhere to make it when they don’t sell in Europe.

Russian gas stocks are filling up. And it’s not just easy to turn off production. It could mean that you are pushing too hard.

Selling pipelines to other countries outside of Europe is also not possible, because there are no pipes.

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Analysts they therefore speculated in the fact that Russia can surprisingly open the gas tap completely again.

This could happen, for example, if Putin sees that the EU will get through the winter. So it can turn completely upside down and damage the continent financially by continuing to export.

If the market is flooded, electricity prices will fall, even here in the home. But at the same time, expensive investments in American LNG, new gas pipes and terminals become unprofitable. And expensive gas in European warehouses is useless.

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But as of now, fear is throttling or even completely stopping gas deliveries. And that may seem like the plan, given that Russian gas worth millions goes up in smoke every day.

As we have seen since last year, Putin was unpredictable.

And so it keeps its energy weapon.

It also affects Norway, although we have not shut down nuclear energy and have become dependent on Russian gas or oil.

It’s frustrating.

But this winter a lot depends on the neighbor. And he can’t be trusted.

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