The gas deliveries from Russia are currently insufficient to increase the low level of storage facilities in Europe.
(Photo: LAIF)
It has never been easier to blame Russia for the low level of gas storage in Germany and other European countries. It was Russia’s President Putin himself who announced at the end of October that he would again deliver more natural gas to the west in November.
But there is no sign of that at the moment. The storage levels remain low. This applies in particular to those storage facilities in Germany that Gazprom owns or in which Gazprom has a stake. It makes sense to assume that the Russian side is stingy with gas in order to force the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to go into operation.
But are things that simple? Of course, Putin is a brutal power politician who uses all instruments to push his interests through. The escalation in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict underscores this. De-escalation is an instrument that has no meaning in Putin’s toolbox.
Nevertheless, the gas supply does not only follow power-political considerations. After a cold winter in 2020/2021, the storage levels were low, and in view of the high gas prices, European traders were reluctant to build up supplies for this winter in the summer.
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There were also logistical problems with the Russians. Gazprom had to do with replenishing the storage facilities in its own country well into the autumn. Taken together, this provides part of the explanation for the situation.
However, the fact that, according to Ukraine, the Russian side is still not making full use of the transit capacities through the hostile country should give cause for concern. This cannot be due to a lack of demand for natural gas.
It does not go far enough to blame Russia alone for the situation in the gas market. But with every day that Russia delivers less than it could, the pressure to provide valid explanations increases.
More: Nord Stream 2 causes a fight at the traffic lights.