A report in [Berliner Zeitung} two days ago (https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/article/oelpreis-gaspreis-iran-krieg-norwegen-equinor-gewinn-deutschland-10223758) showed that the rise of Norway as Germany’s leading gas supplier, replacing Russia, has resulted in imported gas (mostly LNG) being five times as expensive as the Russian gas before 2022. Norway delivers 44 percent of Germany’s gas needs, followed by the Netherlands and Belgium with 24 and 21 percent, respectively. Russia had been the largest supplier covering 55% of Germany’s gas needs.
Before the EU sanctions against Russia the price of one megawatt-hour of imported gas was 12 euros, it is now 60. Past long-term agreements with Russia were based on fixed prices, but the EU is now at the mercy of the Western spot markets controlled by the whim of speculators. Part of the increase is not related to Norway. Since the Strait of Hormuz crisis, the world’s largest shipping corridor for Mideast oil and gas has been turned into a conflict zone, helping to drive-up the price of a megawatt-hour of electricity by almost 30 euros.
