WARSAW, Apr 28, 2022 (AFP) – Russian state group Gazprom on Wednesday suspended gas supplies to NATO and European Union members Poland and Bulgaria, raising fears of a shortage of this fuel on the European continent.
These are the main causes and possible consequences of the Russian decision for the European gas market.
– Why does Moscow turn off the tap? -Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russia would no longer accept payments in currencies other than the ruble in response to Western economic sanctions against Moscow and warned that “hostile” countries would no longer receive the gas if they did not open. accounts in this currency.
“The conditions set out are part of a new payment method devised after unprecedented unfriendly actions,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
Several countries, including France, Germany and Poland, rejected Russia’s demand.
Claudia Kemfert, an energy expert at German consultancy DIW, said: “Russia’s disruption of gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria creates a new scenario in Putin’s escalation to panic Europe.”
However, he added, there should not be “supply difficulties now because Germany and Europe have sufficient gas reserves”.
– What does gas represent for the Russian budget? -According to the Gazprom Export website, 68% of the group’s exports in 2020 were destined for Europe.
Of a total of 174.9 billion cubic meters of exports, 119.35 billion were destined for Europe, including 49 billion to Germany, nearly 21 billion to Italy and over 13 billion to Austria.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that 45% of the Russian federal budget in January came from gas and oil taxes and export tariffs.
“Considering the current market prices, the value of gas exports from Russia to the European Union reaches 400 million dollars a day”, highlights the agency.
– What is the level of European dependence? – Last year, Russia supplied 32% of the EU and UK’s global gas demand, up 25% from 2009, according to the IEA.
Dependence varies by country: while Finland receives 97.6% of its gas from Russia, according to the Eurostat agency, the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) announced this month that they cut ties with Moscow and would supply with reserves stored underground.
Target of Gazprom’s decision, Bulgaria depends on 85% of Russian gas, the same level as Slovakia.
And Germany, the main European economy, depends on 55%, but the government guarantees that “supply is currently guaranteed”.
– And Poland? -The other victim of the gas cut, Poland, consumes up to 21 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the country is prepared for a complete interruption of Russian supplies and that its reserves are at 76% of storage capacity.
Poland autonomously produces 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas and has a liquefied natural gas terminal with a capacity of 6.5 billion that will be expanded to 8 billion.
The country also has the opening in October of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, with the capacity to transport 10 billion cubic meters of gas from Norway.
“We are going to deal with this blackmail, with this gun to the head, in a way that does not affect the Poles,” Morawiecki said.
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