German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s statement about the start of natural gas purchases bypassing Russia looks more like a symbolic step, since this statement does not contain any information about suppliers or the amount of fuel purchased. This was announced to Izvestia by Valdis Plavinsh, an independent energy expert, on Friday, March 4.
Earlier in the day, Scholz said that Germany had already begun to buy gas bypassing Russia, but continued to receive gas, coal and oil from Moscow. The Chancellor also said that the decision to stop the Nord Stream 2 (SP-2) gas pipeline was made in a timely manner.
According to Plavins, the very precedent that Berlin, as one of Moscow’s main partners in Europe, seeks to reduce its dependence on the Russian gas industry, “may cause investor wariness, if not panic.”
“At the moment, we can say with confidence that in the short term there is simply nothing to replace Russian fuel in the EU. There are no players on the market ready for a rapid increase in such production volumes,” the expert said.
However, in the long term, Europe as a whole and Germany will be able to reduce their need for Russian gas, he stressed.
“If natural gas prices remain so high, the European liquefied natural gas market will be able to compete with the Asian market, in addition, high natural gas prices will spur the development of its production and export opportunities for major players such as Australia, Qatar and the United States,” he said.
Therefore, the statement of the German chancellor, if it can be considered a threat to Gazprom, will be such only in the long term, given the preservation of such positions, Plavinsh believes.
On the eve of the Minister of Economics of Germany, Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck said that Berlin partly feels the impact of anti-Russian sanctions on the German economy. He said that gas exports from Russia should be replaced, and work is underway on this issue.
Plavinsh also noted that at the moment there are no players on the world market that can replace Russian gas, so any restrictions on Gazprom’s supplies will lead to even more panic and an even greater increase in energy prices. New price hikes will contribute to a serious deterioration in the economic situation of the population.
On March 2, Austrian political scientist and economist Gerhard Mangott said that due to problems with gas supplies, European families and their homes will be the first to suffer. He admitted that in the future the governments of European countries will have to think about reducing the use of gas. At the same time, he expressed hope that Europe would not go for a complete break in relations with Russia.
The price of gas on the stock exchange resumed growth in Europe after the US, EU, UK and some other Western countries imposed sanctions against a number of Russian legal entities and individuals, as well as the banking sector in response to Moscow’s operation to protect Donbass.
On March 2, the price of the April futures for gas in Europe on the ICE exchange exceeded $2,200 per 1,000 cubic meters. m, having updated the historical maximum. The next day, the cost of blue fuel exceeded $2,250 per thousand cubic meters.
On February 24, Russia launched a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, in turn, accused Russia of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law. In support of Kyiv, Western countries have introduced a new package of anti-Russian sanctions.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics (DNR and LNR). He made this decision against the backdrop of the aggravation of the situation in the Donbass that began on February 17. The DPR and LPR reported heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces, including heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, Kyiv has been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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