While the British Empire keeps blaming Russia for the Green Deal-originated energy crisis in Europe, the head of Düsseldorf-based energy company Uniper has called for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to be commissioned. “Nord Stream 2 is important,” Klaus-Dieter Maubach said. “Every additional import possibility helps to ease the situation on the gas market.” He said, “A shutdown would be an economic risk for us and a risk for gas supply in Europe. The political decision-makers must be aware of this.”
The decision by Indonesia, the number-one coal exporter in the world, to cut coal exports (see slug), will exacerbate the already serious energy crisis in Europe and in Germany in particular. A scenario, as currently underway in Kazakhstan, with people rioting following liquid natural gas price increases, might be around the corner.
Meanwhile, the next energy provider has gone bust in Germany. The Oldenburg-based Kehag Energiehandel declared insolvency on Dec. 28. It had already stopped delivering electricity on Dec. 13. Kehag supplied corporate customers. According to a study by Euler Hermes, current high prices are endangering especially small and medium providers in Germany and Great Britain.
Despite evidence to the contrary, the British intelligence agency Reuters used the head of the Ukrainian gas transmission operator to accuse Moscow, again, of cutting gas deliveries to Europe, in a wire today.
“Russia’s Gazprom has cut its daily volume of gas transit via Ukraine to Europe to about 50 million cubic meters (mcm), the lowest level since January 2020, the head of the Ukrainian gas transmission system’s operator said on Tuesday. Sergiy Makogon wrote on Facebook that the current volume was much lower than the 109.6 mcm, which Gazprom booked according to Ukraine’s five-year gas transit contract with Russia signed in December 2019.”
The British outlet does not say that Gazprom customers have cut orders—the reason for the drop in Gazprom’s capacity bookings—nor that some German operators are sending gas from their reserves in reverse flow to Poland and Ukraine through the same pipeline.
Instead, it pushes the following piece of war propaganda: “Kyiv said that Russia was cutting gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine in order to create shortages in the cold period when consumption increases, and to speed up certification of another pipeline—Nord Stream 2, which is ready to start operations and pump Russian gas to Europe, bypassing Ukraine.”
