On Wednesday, Russia froze gas shipments to Europe via its Nord Stream 1 pipeline, deepening the economic war between Moscow and the EU and increasing the risk of a recession and energy rationing in some of the region’s richest countries.
According to the legitimate Russian claim that it is performing line maintenance, these cutbacks would last around a month.
Russia decreased pipeline flows to 40% of capacity in June and 20% in July, and has also halted supplies to other European nations, including Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Poland, as well as reduced flows through other pipelines, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia supplies around 40% of Europe’s natural gas through pipelines that moved about 155 billion cubic metres last year, but with the Russian curtailment, European countries are looking for alternate supply.
Because the European gas network is integrated, supplies may be shared, some nations have alternate supply alternatives.
Germany, Europe’s top user of Russian gas, may import through pipelines from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands.
The European Union hopes to phase out Russian fossil fuels by 2027, while Norway, Europe’s second-largest gas supplier after Russia, is increasing efficiency.
Centrica in the United Kingdom has inked an agreement with Equinor in Norway to deliver additional supplies over the next three winters, and because the United Kingdom is not reliant on Russian gas, it can export it to Europe via pipelines.
Azerbaijani gas may be sent to southern Europe via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline to Italy and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) to Turkey.
Poland, which relies on Russia for about half of its gas consumption, or approximately 10 billion cubic metres, has stated that it can obtain gas through two links with Germany, and a new pipeline will open, enabling up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas yearly.
Between Poland and Norway in October, after the commissioning of a new gas link between Poland and Slovakia last week.
Spain wants to restart a proposal to build a third gas pipeline over the Bernese Mountains, while France says new LNG facilities would be a speedier and less expensive alternative to a new pipeline.
The United States says it might supply 15 billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas to the European Union this year, but U. S.
Due to an explosion at a major Texas LNG export facility, LNG units were idle until late November, despite being fully operational.
LNG terminals in Europe also have limited capacity to accommodate extra imports, while some nations, notably Germany, have stated that they are looking into methods to enhance imports and storage.
Other than gas, there are alternatives.
Many nations can try to cover any energy supply deficit by switching to electricity imports via neighbouring interconnectors or by boosting nuclear, renewable, hydroelectric, or coal power development.
However, nuclear power is dropping in Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany as facilities age and are shut down or phased out, while water levels have plummeted this summer owing to less rain and a heat wave, impacting hydropower.
As a result, Europe is attempting to move to coal to satisfy demand, having reactivated idle plants, and this trend began in mid-2021 with the rise in gas prices.
While filling gas tanks, European energy ministers decided to limit gas usage in all EU nations by 15% from August to March, compared to their average yearly use from 2017 to 2021.
Germany has initiated the second part of its three-phase emergency gas plan, pushing businesses and consumers to save gas in order to prevent compulsory rationing.
The Dutch energy minister stated that the Groningen field might expand extraction to assist neighbouring nations in the case that Russian supplies were completely disrupted, but that the increased output may create earthquakes.
Belgian Energy Minister Tine van der Straiten recently warned that unless the EU acts fast to curb soaring gas costs, winters in Europe would be horrible in the next five to ten years.
Russia has cut off gas supplies, and Europe is seeking for alternatives. Will the continent enter a period of huge crises?
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