Russia is burning US$10 million a day of natural gas usually destined for Germany, Europe’s energy prices soar
- Moscow slashed gas flows to Europe, cutting Nord Stream 1’s capacity to 20 per cent in July – it will shut the pipeline down entirely for 3 days on Wednesday
- The Kremlin has plunged the continent into an energy crisis in response to Western economic and energy sanctions brought in after its invasion of Ukraine
Russia is burning off huge amounts of natural gas that would otherwise have gone to Germany before Ukraine war upended European energy markets, according to a BBC news report.
A plant near St Petersburg is torching off an estimated US$10 million of gas each day, the BBC said on Friday, citing analysis from Rystad Energy. The gas would previously have been exported to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, it said.
But Moscow has slashed gas flows to Europe, cutting the Nord Stream 1’s capacity to 20 per cent in July. It now plans to shut the pipeline down entirely for three days of unplanned maintenance starting on Wednesday.
The flares are at the Portovaya liquefied natural gas plant near the start of the pipeline, close to the border with Finland, according to the BBC. It’s burning around 4.34 million cubic metres of gas each day, Rystad analysis showed.
Moscow has sought to choke off Europe’s gas supplies in apparent response to Western economic and energy sanctions brought in after its invasion of Ukraine.