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Every day has its punishment and also its increase. The price of gas has hit an all-time record on European markets, breaking through the wall of two thousand dollars per cubic meter. In the Dutch Ttf hub, methane exceeded 182 euros per megawatt hour, with an increase of 24%. Among the reasons that led to such a marked increase in the cost of gas, the blocking of transit to Germany by the Russian state giant Gazprom stands out. As German network operator Gascade reported, flows through the Yamal-Europe pipeline stopped on Tuesday morning, following a steady reduction in supplies that began on Saturday. The Russian monopolist has not booked additional export capacity through the Yamal pipeline. As reported by TASS, in December Gazprom chose to book the pumping capacities of Yamal-Europe daily, which transits Belarus and Central Europe.
The eyes immediately fell on Moscow. So much so that the Kremlin spokesman was quick to deny the links with the tensions that have been occurring for weeks between Russia and Europe, both for the bureaucratic postponement of the entry into operation of the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and for the political conflict at the Belarusian border. “This is an absolutely commercial situation,” said Dmitry Peskov. “The question about the particular reasons should be addressed directly to Gazprom. There is no connection in this case, it is an absolutely commercial situation ”.
In recent days, various analysts and politicians, starting with the EU Commission’s Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, accused the Kremlin of playing dirty with Europe, speculating on the price by reducing supplies to put undue political pressure on some reasons of friction: one above all, the entry into operation of the doubling of Nord Stream 2, the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany bypassing the Ukraine with which Moscow is in conflict. About a month ago, the Federal Network Agency of the Federal Republic of Germany temporarily suspended the approval procedure for a purely bureaucratic matter.
An unexpected event that has postponed the entry into operation of the infrastructure opposed by the United States at the end of next quarter, if all goes well. More recently, the new German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has also fueled Russian concerns, stating that the Russian-German infrastructure cannot be approved “at present” by Germany because “it does not meet the requirements of EU law on the matter. of energy and security issues remain “.
The words of the leader of the Greens have therefore formalized a fact: the gas pipeline will not come into operation before the end of this winter, during which Europe, already short of gas, will have to make use of the supplies that will come from Russia in the first place ( which supplies 40% of European gas) and from its other suppliers. As of 4 December, 23.4% of the gas injected in the current thermal season in European underground storage plants (UGs) had already been withdrawn.
At the moment, however, Brussels does not see market tampering carried out by the Russian monopolist: “We asked all the main energy companies in the EU and in particular Gazprom for information to understand if there are any unfairness in the energy markets, it is still too early to reach any kind of conclusion on the matter, the information requested is arriving and we are in the analysis phase “, indicated the vice president of the EU Commission, Margrethe Vestager, responding to a question on Poland’s request for an EU investigation to verify any manipulations on the energy market by Gazprom.
However, in recent days, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly threatened to block gas imports to Europe in retaliation for the sanctions imposed by the EU for the migrant crisis on the Polish border. Releases that have triggered other flares in the price of gas, which have now become the order of the day at the first diplomatic or political friction.
Not only that: in recent days Electricite de France’s announcement to stop the four reactors that represent 10% of France’s nuclear capacity has also caused the price of energy supplies to skyrocket in Europe. Around 30% of France’s nuclear capacity will be inactive from the beginning of January, leaving the energy market at the mercy of the weather. German wind production fell to 2,277 megawatts on Tuesday, the lowest level since November 16, BBG reports. Germany is also abandoning nuclear power and is expected to close 50% of its reactors before the end of the year.
The energy crisis, Bloomberg points out, caused Trafigura’s Nyrstar to suspend production from its zinc smelter in France in the first week of January due to rising electricity prices. The Norwegian fertilizer producer Yara International will continue to monitor the situation and possibly reduce production if necessary.
