Europe could feel natural gas pinch…again
Europeans may be feeling a sense of deja vu. Afterall, it was in 2006 that Russian natural gas supplies flowing through the Ukraine tightened in response to squabbles between Moscow and Kiev.
Fast forward to present and the stage is set for a repeat: On Saturday the Russian natural gas firm Gazprom warned European leaders that Russia may cut off natural gas piped through Ukraine in response to a debt due on January 1. Negotiations are on-going, but it is not clear whether the financially-strapped Ukraine can make payment.
Today, Gazprom reassured Europe, saying “they would meet European gas demands despite [the] row.” Nevertheless, the folks in Brussels, Berlin, Warsaw, and elsewhere in Central Europe are surely thinking about energy security these days.
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First the Conservative Government then the Labour Government used the taxes raised from North Sea gas to fund their pet projects.
They stood by as the UK moved from a net exporter to a net importer of LNG, they watched as British Gas sold off our LNG to Europe at cheap prices during each summer and watched as the Europeans sold it back at higher prices in winter.
Because of useless regulation we have no serious storage capacity and may be hung out to dry by the Russians, even now BG are contemplating selling off part of what little storage they have, while looking to the Irish sea for future storage.
[...] shorten, temperatures fall, the first flurries of snow herald the onset of winter, and Europeans begin to wonder whether the Russian natural gas they rely on to beat the winter chill will make it through the [...]