Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Alexander Novak threatened to turn off the gas tap to Europe in a TV speech last night.
Europe ‘hit mercilessly hard’
If Russia turns off the gas tap, Europe will be ‘impossible to find an alternative energy supplier’, according to Novak. Getting natural gas from elsewhere “will take years” and “hit Europe mercilessly,” he said in his speech.
Europe depends on Russia for about 40 percent of its natural gas needs. Gas prices rose yesterday to new record highs due to the unrest in Ukraine.
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Novak said Nord Stream 1, the major gas pipeline to transport the fossil fuel from Russia to Germany, is currently “at full capacity.”
A decision to actually stop exporting Russian gas has not yet been made, Novak said. The commissioning of an additional gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, was already completed last month canceled by Germany.
Novak’s threats followed warnings from, among others, the US Congress that Russian oil could be banned by America and Western allies.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said yesterday that the Russian energy market has deliberately been kept out of harm’s way in the implementation of the sanctions. He acknowledged that there is currently “no other way” for Europe to get gas than through Russia.
‘Oil price could double’
Russian energy minister Novak also said in his speech that plans to ban Russian oil will have “catastrophic consequences” for the global energy market. He warned that the price of a barrel of crude oil could more than double to $300.
Yesterday the oil price reached the highest level since 2008† Brent oil became 9 percent more expensive at $128.70 a barrel and the price of US oil rose 8.3 percent to $125.26 a barrel. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, oil prices have risen by more than a third.
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