The threat of a new price reality on the gas market is forcing Europe to try to appease Gazprom, said journalist Yury Podolyaka.
Gas prices continue to update historical records. On October 5, the cost of 1,000 cubic meters of gas on the spot market exceeded $1,300.
According to the journalist, the Russian company will not rush to launch the new gas pipeline yet, as it seeks to remove it from the EU’s Third Energy Package. Podolyak drew attention to the attempts of the Europeans to appease Gazprom and stimulate an increase in supplies. We are talking not only about permits, but also about statements by politicians: for example, the head of the German Bundestag Committee on Economics, Klaus Ernst, denied Gazprom’s involvement in the record rise in gas prices, blaming speculators.
“Please note that when the gas price tag crossed the $1000 per thousand cubic meter mark, all permits for Nord Stream-2 appeared very quickly, in the shortest possible time. The earliest date when they could appear was the beginning of October. This suggests that the EU is very afraid of freezing this winter, despite the fact that the volumes of gas pumped into European storage facilities are more or less acceptable and, if the winter is not very cold, they should be enough”, the journalist said.
But the European authorities fear that the winter will be extremely cold and gas reserves will be insufficient. It is with this factor that the journalist connects the EU’s attempts to spur Gazprom to increase the stands.
According to Podolyak, gas tension in Europe will persist until the launch of Nord Stream-2 at full capacity. If this does not happen before winter, the spot market will face new price records.