Gazprom has drastically reduced gas supplies to Europe in recent days. Experts believe that supplies could be completely cut off in the winter.
Russia could completely cut off gas supplies to Europe next winter, believes Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency. He spoke about the situation in the energy sector against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine in an interview with the Financial Times.
“Europe must be prepared in case Russia’s gas is completely cut off. The closer we get to winter, the better we understand Russia’s intentions,” he said.
Birol believes the Russian Federation has cut gas supplies recently to prevent Europeans from filling their gas reservoirs and increase their leverage in the winter months.
In this regard, he urged EU authorities to take steps to reduce the demand for gas and keep the old nuclear power plants planned to be shut down.
“Emergency measures taken by European countries this week to reduce gas demand, such as the launch of old coal-fired power plants, have been justified in the scale of the crisis, despite fears of rising carbon emissions, “Birol added.
The other day, Sweden and Denmark, followed by Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, announced the first phase of emergency plans to maintain gas supplies.
Last week, Gazprom cut gas supplies through Nord Stream 1 by 60%. As a result, the price of gas in Europe exceeds $ 1,500 per thousand cubic meters.
The Turkish Stream gas pipeline also stopped operating for a week.
At the same time, Gazprom could use the free capacity of the Ukrainian GTS and the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, but it does not, creating a gas crisis in Europe.
News from Athletistic in the Telegram. Subscribe to our channel Athletistic
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.