Britain has found itself at the mercy of Putin after the closure of a gas storage facility in Yorkshire, the local newspaper Daily Mail has reported
According to the newspaper, the UK is the leader in gas consumption in Europe, so the problem of fuel shortage is particularly acute. At the same time, over the past two decades, the country has reduced gas production from fields in the North Sea and the Irish Sea and imports energy resources from abroad.
“We are not exploiting the vast reserves of shale gas that lie within our country, even though America has recently regained ‘energy independence’ thanks to these resources. Instead, Britain is increasing its energy vulnerability through a ‘just-in-time’ supply system, both by pipeline and by sea”, – the paper wrote.
As an example, the paper cited the closure in 2017 of a gas storage facility on the Yorkshire coast that is linked to the Rough field, in what the paper said was a display of extreme recklessness on the part of the Conservative government.
“Four years on, practice has shown that it was a disastrous decision which put us at the mercy of Putin”, – the paper said.
Gas futures prices in Europe have risen sharply in recent months. From the beginning of August to the end of September the price of raw materials has doubled. The historical maximum was reached on the 6th of October at $1937 per thousand cubic meters, after which the prices went down.