Tim Koehler, director of the German gas industry association Zukunft Gas, said that the launch of Nord Stream-2 should take place during 2022, Izvestia reports.
“I am sure that the gas pipeline will be launched within this year. This will significantly affect price dumping, as the situation will level off again,” he said.
Koehler believes that after the launch of Nord Stream-2, the market will begin to stabilize, and not the constant fluctuations that have been observed recently.
“So it will certainly affect the situation in the future. The European partners who, together with Gazprom, participated in the construction of the gas pipeline are very interested in long-term relations with the largest gas supplier to Europe,” the expert believes.
He also drew attention to the fact that very high prices are not beneficial for Gazprom, because they will lead to a decrease in gas consumption.
“High prices will lead to a reduction in gas consumption because high prices stop industrial production. Therefore, the Russian energy company is certainly not interested in too high prices. We need to find a situation that will reduce prices to a sustainable level so that the potential of natural gas for the European Union can be used by the European consumer,” the specialist said.
In addition, the director of Zukunft Gas believes that it is still necessary to create a stable situation in all areas of the market when Nord Stream-2 is put into operation.
“Stronger development of the natural gas market in Europe and in particular in Germany is needed. So in the future, the demand will be satisfied, and the strategic role of natural gas will be reflected in the change in the energy balance in the countries of Europe,” Köhler concluded.