The flow of natural gas through the Nord Stream pipeline fell to 20% of its maximum capacity this morning, as announced, according to data from the German operator, raising the risk of shortages next winter.
As of this morning, Nord Stream is transporting… 1.28 million cubic meters per hour, i.e. about 20% of its maximum capacity,” announced Gascade, which manages the network on German soil.
At the same time, the Italian group Eni was informed by Gazprom that the flow of natural gas will be limited to 27 million cubic meters today, compared to 34 million in the last few days.
Before the Russian attack on Ukraine, Nord Stream transported 73 GWh per hour, feeding the very highly dependent on Moscow Germany, but also other European countries through the connection that passes under the Baltic Sea.
The flow dropped to 40% of normal in mid-June before the supply was shut down for 10 days for “annual maintenance” from July 11 to 21. The stream has since resumed.
On Monday, Gazprom announced a doubling of daily deliveries via Nord Stream, citing a “maintenance operation on one turbine”.
A spokesman for the Kremlin announced that Western sanctions were responsible for the reduction, which “if they didn’t exist, everything would have been done with the usual deadlines…”.
But the Europeans reject the technical reasons invoked by Moscow and accuse the Kremlin of using natural gas as an economic and political weapon.
Natural gas prices yesterday reached their highest level since the March record.
The European Union yesterday agreed on a plan which foresees that each country will do everything possible to reduce in the period between August 2022 and March 2023 the consumption of natural gas by at least 15% compared to the average of the last five years during the same period.
Russia accounted for 40% of the EU’s natural gas imports until last year.
Source: Capital
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
