Russian energy mammoth Gazprom has suspended all gas inventories to Germany through the Nord Stream channel, as the conflict in Ukraine raises fears for energy inventories to Europe.
“Inventories via Nord Stream fully stopped as precautionary work begins moment at a gas compressor unit,” the company said in a brief statement on Wednesday.
Germany’s Federal Network Agency principal Klaus Mueller called it a “technically incomprehensible” decision, advising that it was likely just a rationale by Moscow to apply energy inventories as a trouble.
Experience shows that Moscow “makes a political decision after every so- called conservation”, he said, adding that “we’ll only know at the morning of September if Russia does that again”.
Europe has been on edge over soaring energy prices as Russia checked its gas deliveries in the wake of its descent in Ukraine.
Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, has indicted Moscow of using energy as a “armament”.
‘Gas exigency’
At the same time, fears over strangled inventories have also driven companies to slash their energy operation.
Germany’s assiduity consumed 21.3 percent less gas in July than the normal for the month from 2018 to 2021, said the Federal Network Agency.
Mueller has said similar pre-emptive action “could save Germany from a gas exigency this downtime”.
And Europe’s biggest frugality was formerly contending to turn its reverse on Russian gas.
At the German littoral megacity of Lubmin, where Nord Stream 1 comes onshore, plans are formerly well underway for the switch to thawed natural gas(LNG).
The LNG, transported in by vessels, will arrive at Lubmin’s artificial harborage and be converted back into gas and pumped into Gascade’s distribution network, which has so far been used to channel Russian gas around the country.
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Reforming electricity request
“We anticipate to be suitable to fit gas into the distribution network on December 1,” said Stephan Knabe of Deutsche ReGas — the company managing the LNG design.
The company believes that over to 4.5 billion boxy metres of gas can be imported via the Lubmin LNG terminal alone, making up around eight percent of Nord Stream 1’s capacity.
Europe as a bloc, meanwhile, was preparing to take exigency action to reform the electricity request in order to bring running prices under control. Fear of dearths of natural gas has driven futures contracts for electricity in France and Germany to record situations.
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