7 hours agoGas prices rise as Russia reduces supplies to Europe
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)Gas prices have increased as Russia has further cut gas supplies to Germany and other Central European countries. European gas prices rose by 9%, the BBC writes. Critics accuse the Russian government of using gas as a political weapon. Russia has cut flow through the Nord Stream pipeline 1 in Germany, [...]
Critics accuse the Russian government of using gas as a political weapon. Russia has cut the flow through the Nord Stream pipeline 1 in Germany, with what now operates less than a fifth of its normal capacity.
Germany imports 55% of its gas from Russia and most of it comes through Nord Stream 1 ) as the rest comes from land-based pipelines. Russian energy firm Gazprom has sought to justify the latest cut, saying it was necessary to allow maintenance work in a turbine.
The German government, however, said there were no technical reasons for it to limit supply. Ukraine has accused Moscow of a <x0 natural gas war> against Europe and of cutting off supplies to cause “terror” on humans.
On Tuesday, the European Union agreed to cut gas use if Russia bans supplies, but some countries will have exceptions to avoid rationing.
EU members have now agreed to voluntarily reduce 15% of gas use between August and March. The EU agreed in May to ban all Russian oil imports coming from the sea by the end of this year, but a gas-stop deal has lasted longer.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the price of large gas has already increased, with a negative impact on consumer energy bills across the globe.
The Kremlin blames Western sanctions for rising the price, insisting it is a reliable energy partner and not responsible for the recent disruption of the gas supply.
While Great Britain would not be directly affected by the disruption of gas supply, as it imports less than 5% of its gas from Russia, it would be affected by rising prices on global markets as demand increases in Europe.
Gas prices in the United Kingdom rose 7% on Wednesday, almost six times higher than a year ago.
The recent reduction of flows puts pressure on EU countries to further reduce their dependence on Russian gas and will likely make it more difficult to replenish their gas supplies before winter.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, European leaders have held talks on how to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
