Russian authorities are stepping up gas blackmail against the background of the European Union’s decision to reduce gas consumption.
EU countries have agreed on an emergency plan to reduce gas consumption after a week of discussions. The purpose of the plan is to reduce the risks due to the threat of a complete cessation of gas supplies from Russia. True, the adopted document became softer than the original version due to the disagreement of some countries to reduce consumption.
Against this backdrop, Russia is once again reducing gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream, and also increasing the pressure – literally this time – at the entrance to the Ukrainian gas pipeline, without warning, which may lead to “unusual situations.” Correspondent.net telling the details.
What was agreed in Europe
European Union energy ministers have agreed on an emergency plan to reduce gas consumption. On Tuesday, July 26, it was approved by a majority vote at a special meeting in Brussels, reported the representative office of the Czech Republic, which currently leads the EU. Only Hungary voted against.
The plan proposed by the European Commission assumes a reduction in national gas consumption from August 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 by 15 percent from the level of consumption in 2019.
Some exceptions are provided for countries:
-
whose networks are not synchronized pan-European (for example, Malta and Ireland)
-
those with limited access to pipelines (Hungary and Estonia)
-
with a large specific standard of gas reserves in storage
-
highly dependent on gas as a raw material for industry (for example, Germany)
Czech Industry and Trade Minister Josef Sikela said the agreed gas demand reduction document also makes exceptions for the Baltics and EU islands.
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that “the Kremlin is not a reliable partner in providing energy to Europe,” and that the EU should prepare for a complete stoppage of supplies.
In addition, the adopted plan provides the possibility to declare an alarm within the EU in the event of a significant shortage of gas supplies. Mandatory targets for saving gas consumption must also be set, and compared to the first draft of the European Commission, the obstacles to these targets have been increased, and the number of possible exceptions to the plan has been increased.
The Italian newspaper La Stampa wrote that almost nothing remains of the original plan of the European Commission: “First of all, the European Commission has been deprived of the right to declare a state of emergency – which, in turn, is a prerequisite for mandatory. implementation of the target of 15% reduction in gas consumption.”
In the first phase, from August 1 to March 31, gas consumption will be reduced on a voluntary basis. The Council of the EU, that is, the governments of the European countries, needs a qualified majority to decide on declaring a state of emergency. And a request to consider this issue should not be made by three, but by five countries at the same time.
How the Kremlin fights itself
A day earlier, Russian Gazprom announced the shutdown of another Siemens turbine at the Portovaya compressor station, which is responsible for pumping through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, explaining it by the need for repair .
Due to the decommissioning of the turbine, gas supplies through Nord Stream will be reduced from July 27 to 33 million cubic meters per day, which will be approximately 20 percent of the throughput capacity.
At the same time, the German company Siemens Energy reported that it sent Gazprom an export license issued by Canada, which allows the repair, maintenance and transportation of turbines for the Portovaya compression station .
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow had not received clear explanations about the status of the Siemens turbines. He “gets the feeling” that the West is calling on Russia to “break regulations” on gas pipeline safety.
The press secretary of the Russian ruler, Dmitry Peskov, in turn, added that the situation is “critically complicated” by the restrictions and sanctions imposed against Russia.
Vice-Chancellor, head of the German Ministry of Economy Robert Habek said that there are no technical reasons for reducing gas supplies from Russia through the Nord Stream. In his opinion, Putin is “playing a deceptive game.”
According to him, all the documents for the Siemens turbine are ready, but Russia refuses to issue import documents. The vice-chancellor believes that Moscow is violating agreements and shifting the blame to others.
Khabek noted that Russia is trying to undermine support for Ukraine with gas blackmail, but Western countries will counter this with “unity and consistency of actions.”
Right now, it can be argued that the Kremlin is going out on its own. According to Novaya Gazeta. Europe, Russia have to mothball wells due to the collapse of gas exports, and the Russians do not have the technologies for re-mothballing, as well as for drilling new wells.
In 2013, ExxonMobil, which then had a strategic agreement with Rosneft to enter all of Rosneft’s Russian oil and gas projects for one-third of the cost of each of the projects, drilled a well in the Kara Sea, where huge oil and gas reserves have been discovered.
Due to sanctions imposed in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea, ExxonMobil was forced to mothball the well and leave Russia. Rosneft has repeatedly confirmed in informal talks the fact that it lacks the technology to reopen this well and drill a new well next to it, the newspaper wrote.
Such a fate awaits almost all mothballed gas wells in Russia, but they have to be mothballed – with a significant decrease in gas exports, there is no place to store the produced gas, and Russia has no sufficient capacity for its dissolution.
An attempt to cut off Ukraine from gas supplies
The operator of the Ukrainian gas transmission system reported an increase in pressure in the section of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline that borders Russia. Gazprom increased the pressure without warning.
“OGTS informed Gazprom that the untimely submission of information about the transfer and change of regimes could lead to emergency situations in the main gas pipeline,” said the statement on the website of the Ukrainian operator.
Such actions by Moscow create risks for Europe in the face of reduced gas supplies through the Nord Stream, OGTS said. In addition, in 2009, under similar circumstances, due to the fault of Gazprom, an accident occurred in the gas pipeline of Turkmenistan.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is calling for increased pressure on Russia itself. President Volodymyr Zelensky said news of another cut in Russian supplies to Europe showed that “this is an open gas war launched by Russia against a united Europe.” He urged “to strike.”
“Not to think about how to return some turbines, but to increase sanctions. Do everything to limit Russia’s revenues not only from gas and oil, but in general from any remaining exports. And to break trade relations with Russia as much as possible, because All such communication is a potential means of pressure for Russia,” he said.
If the pressure on Russia does not ease, but intensifies, and the EU manages to maintain unity, this winter will be the last time that Russia can use gas to pressure Europe, said the Minister of Energy which is German Galushchenko.
“The only way is to strike back and get rid of any addiction,” Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba also tweeted.
News from Correspondent.net on 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.