Russia cancels plan to reopen main gas pipeline – deepening Europe’s difficulty in securing winter fuel | World News
Russia has scrapped plans to reopen a major natural gas pipeline to Europe.
The decision by Gazprom, a state-controlled company, will make it more difficult for Europe to secure fuel before winter.
Gazprom said the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would remain closed due to a leak in the main gas turbine, although Siemens Energy – which normally supplies the turbines – said such a leak would not prevent operations.
Both Europe and the US National Security Council accuse Russia of using gas as a “weapon against consumers”.
But before that, European Council President Charles Michel said: “The use of gas as a weapon will not change the resolve of the EU”.
Wholesale gas prices have risen 400% since last August – bringing misery to households and businesses in Europe, where reliance on Russian energy has historically been high.
Also on Friday, G7 finance ministers agreed to impose price caps on Russian oil exports to make it difficult for Vladimir Putin to finance the invasion of Ukraine.
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Despite selling less oil since the war began, Russia made £600 million more from oil sales in June than it did the previous month due to soaring prices due to the war.
British Prime Minister Nadhim Zahawi said the price cap would also bring global price stability to “protect our citizens from oil price shocks in the coming year”.
“That means Putin can’t profit from excessively high oil prices and, of course, protects us all from oil price shocks next year and beyond,” he added.
Landing facility of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in Lubmin, Germany
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly called for tougher sanctions against Russia, said the move “will not only limit the flow of euro-dollar oil and gas to Moscow, but Also, it is important to restore justice to all Europeans, whom Russia is trying to blackmail with artificially inflated prices in the energy market.”
However, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that Moscow would retaliate by shutting off supplies to Europe entirely, saying: “There will simply be no Russian gas in Europe.”
Germany, one of the countries most dependent on Russian energy, is preparing to cut gas supplies and its network regulator has warned citizens and industry to cut consumption. consume.
A hero wish list is still very short in detail
The G7 nations and the EU have announced they will reduce or cut their imports of Russian oil and gas.
The “price cap” announced today by the G7 finance ministers is an attempt to further strangle Moscow’s fossil fuel revenue by targeting service firms that provide antagonism. administrative and logistical structures for the oil trade.
The G7 said service providers would be barred from “allowing the shipping” of crude oil and petroleum products if they were trading above the unspecified limit.
This announcement does not specify any services, but we can assume that shipping, transport, insurance, financial and commercial companies, many of which are based in the EU, USA, Great Britain and Switzerland, in the sights of finance ministers.
According to Prime Minister Nadhim Zahawi, the goal is to cut Moscow’s oil revenues, while protecting low- and middle-income countries that still depend on Russian imports, and insulate British consumers from the future price shocks.
It was a heroic wish list but still a theoretical one and very short in detail. The announcement only signals “intention to finalize and implement” a plan and it is unclear how it will be implemented.
What is clear is that the current measures to limit dependence on fossil fuels do not affect the Kremlin’s revenue as much as hoped.
Even as Russia’s oil exports fall, higher global prices caused by the war mean increased revenues. Research by the Center for Energy and Clean Air shows that sales increased in July due to a 6% drop in exports.
And while Western buyers are turning away, India and China are continuing to stagnate, while Beijing now depends on Moscow for almost 25% of its oil imports.
The G7’s move is an acknowledgment that Russia’s fossil fuel weaponization strategy has so far been a win-win.
While European consumers are hit by higher bills, which in turn could undermine support for Ukraine, Moscow is still making money.
