Putin sparks EU panic as he CUTS main gas pipeline and sends prices soaring to record high

Europe ‘too dependent’ on Russian gas says von der Leyen

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Russia’s state-owned energy giant, Gazprom, cut off gas transiting through the Yamal-Europe pipeline on Friday. It comes after Gazprom restarted its delivery of natural gas supplies via the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Germany from Poland on Thursday. It had booked 7.8 million kilowatt-hours per hour of gas transit capacity via the pipeline for Friday morning until Saturday morning.

Since December, Russia had been sending the Yamal-Europe gas flows in reverse to the east.

The move saw prices skyrocket, surpassing October records that also came from gas squeezes.

But Gazprom agreed to resume transiting gas from Poland to Germany via the pipeline after demand soared.

European natural gas prices skyrocketed again to a record high above €200 (£165) per megawatt-hour.

Russia has been ramping up its gas deliveries to Europe in recent weeks despite its “full-scale invasion” of Ukraine.

But now, it appears Germany’s gas has been slashed yet again.

The pipeline between Poland and Germany is usually responsible for around 15 percent of Russia’s westbound deliveries to Europe.

Russia supplies 40 percent of Europe’s natural gas, making the Yamal pipeline a key route for its supplies to reach the continent.

Putin has still committed to supplying gas to the rest of the world despite harsh sanctions slapped over Moscow over its brutal attack on Ukraine.

But the EU is now looking at ways to slash its dependency on Russia’s gas so it can rid its remaining ties with Putin.

According to a leaked document seen by EURACTIV, the European Commission is drafting a new energy strategy.

It comes as EU gas storage has reached “historically low levels”, with fears soaring over the “low debit in the gas pipelines from the East”.

The document reportedly reads: “We witness a growing gas crisis. The EU remains highly dependent on energy imports for power generation and heating.”

But currently, there is a reported shortage of gas reserves at storage facilities in Europe, leaving the bloc dependent on Russian imports.

The EU document leaked from Brussels suggests that average stocks in the EU as a whole should be kept at least 80 percent as a minimum level of storage.

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The bloc had already been preparing for lower supplies last month over fears Putin would cut the blocs gas while it invades Ukraine.

Fears Putin would retaliate to harsh sanctions by cutting the gas had soared.

And a third of Russia’s gas imports to Europe travels through Ukraine.

Kadri Simson, EU Energy Commissioner, said last month: “It is important that all member states work on preparedness and review contingency plans to ensure they are fit for purpose.

“The commission is conducting an assessment of the situation at European level in liaison with member states.

“We think that the available gas stocks in the EU and our good network of LNG terminals will protect us against major security of supply problems.”

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