The Russian company Gazprom will start filling UGS facilities in Europe after November 8, said the head of the corporation, Alexey Miller.
At present, gas is being pumped into underground storage facilities in Russia, which will be completed by the specified date. After that, the company will start a planned increase in the volume of gas in European UGS facilities, including in Germany and Austria, reports Deutsche Welle, quoting the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting on the development of the resource potential of the Yamal Peninsula on October 27. According to him, this will create “a more favorable situation on the energy market in Europe as a whole” and will ensure that Gazprom fulfills its contractual obligations to European consumers.
Alexey Miller specified that the company intends to reach the target volumes of gas in Russian underground storage facilities (72.6 billion cubic meters) by November 1 and fully complete the process by November 8. He assured the president:
“As soon as we complete the injection of gas into the UGS facilities of the Russian Federation, we will start pumping our, Gazprom’s, gas into the UGSF in Europe.”
He also noted that now the volume of Russian gas in European storage facilities is “insignificant” – less than 190 thousand cubic meters of gas.
At the beginning of October, gas prices in Europe increased many times and exceeded the average indicators of the last year by 10 times. European experts and politicians have repeatedly expressed their suspicion that the Russian gas company is deliberately creating a deficit in the market in order to force the EU and Germany to quickly give permission for the operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was completed in early September, for which it is necessary to take it outside the boundaries of the action of the antimonopoly European laws.
Moscow’s accusations categorically reject these speculations. According to the Russian president, the rise in the cost of gas in Europe arose, in particular, due to a shortage of electricity, which appeared as a result of a decrease in production at wind farms.
More Stories
Bank of Greece: total reduction in bank deposits
"Easter basket" will appear on shelves from mid-April, what will it include
Who will receive a voucher for 300 euros