Russia’s sanctions against European energy companies will prevent Gazprom from supplying Europe with gas through the Yamal-Europe pipeline. The Russian listed company announced this on Thursday. The pipeline is operated by a sanctioned company. This is the second pipeline that has been discontinued.
On Wednesday evening, Russia released a list of European energy companies with which Russian companies are no longer allowed to do business. The country did this in response to Western sanctions against Russia. One of these companies is the Polish company Europol Gaz, the operator of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, which transports gas from Russia via Poland to Europe and Turkey.
As a result, Gazprom will no longer be allowed to use the pipeline, which normally accounts for a sixth of Europe and Turkey’s supply. The German energy watchdog immediately said on Thursday that almost no gas had entered Germany through the pipeline in weeks. The majority would remain in Poland.
The impact on the European gas supply is not immediately clear, but it is already the second gas pipeline that will soon be shut down. Ukraine had to stop supplying pipelines to the country on Wednesday because the country was damaged by the war. The government said the gas was routed through a different pipeline, but Gazprom said it was technically impossible. This concerns about a quarter of the gas that goes to Europe via Russia.
However, the gas supply is not completely shut off, as gas continues to flow through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, among other things. It is not certain whether this is sufficient to guarantee security of supply. Europe gets about 40 percent of its gas from Russia.
Another company on the sanctions list is Wingas, a former German subsidiary of Gazprom that supplies Eneco in our country. According to an Eneco spokesperson, Wingas currently still fulfills its obligations, but cannot yet make any statements about the future.
Source: NU
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
