Europe gas prices: How far is Russia responsible? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/58888451
Some key points in the BBC article:
- Russia supplies about 40% of the EU’s natural gas imports. Most of the rest comes from Norway and Algeria.
- Russia sends gas to Europe through several main pipelines - such as the Nord Stream, the Yamal-Europe and the Brotherhood (see the map in the article).
- Overall, Russian gas exports to Europe have been decreasing over the last couple of years - down 32% in February this year compared to February 2020. One factor - during the pandemic - has been falling demand as economic activity shrank. Stocks of gas across Europe have been depleted, which in turn is driving up prices.
- Gazprom, Russia's majority state-owned energy company, supplies gas to Europe under two different arrangements: 1. Long-term contracts often lasting from 10 to 25 years. 2. "Spot" deals or one-off purchases for a fixed amount of gas.
- It is understood that Gazprom met its obligations to European buyers last year under these contracts.
- "Spot" sales don't appear to be happening in any significant quantity, going by data from Gazprom's own electronic sales platform.
- The International Energy Agency's executive director, Fatih Birol, has accused Russia of reducing gas supplies to Europe for political purposes.
- Gas storage across Europe is well below the 10-year average, with levels currently at about 75% of storage capacity, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data.