Russia Prepares to Restore Natural Gas Flows – 15% Plunge in Prices

Russia Prepares to Restore Natural Gas Flows – 15% Plunge in Prices

Moscow indicated it would restore gas flows to Europe via Germany’s critical Nord Stream pipeline, easing markets.

In particular, as Bloomberg reports, shipment orders published by the pipeline operator suggest that Russian gas flows are expected to resume from 2 a.m. Berlin time on Saturday.

The orders show the pipeline will be restored to 20% of its capacity, as it was before it was shut down for maintenance.

It is recalled that the political leadership of Germany and the EU had expressed fears that Moscow would decide not to reactivate the Nord Stream.

Tellingly, Berlin has said it cannot count on Russian gas at all during the colder months, with prices soaring into the €300 range last week.

However, the trend has now reversed, with the October gas contract at the Amsterdam Hub (TTF) trading at 205.5 euros the megawatt hour, with a dip above it 15% within the day.

In any case, however, as Bloomberg points out, orders do not guarantee actual flows, and it usually takes time for supplies to return to planned levels.

For his part, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak had reported yesterday, Thursday, that his country is keeping to the schedule.

However, Gazprom has stated that the only remaining operational turbine at the Nord Stream entry point will have to undergo technical maintenance every 1,000 hours. Which means roughly every 42 days, with the next outage expected in mid-October.

Source: Capital