Russia "in our case has reduced normal flows by 15%" but has now announced that "Nord Stream will be closed for two weeks for maintenance: this will mean that there will be even less gas and
prices will rise
because the gas market is speculative and there will be a further race to grab. We are going at a very regular pace and we are around 60% of stocks. We have to reach 90%, an achievable target ".
This is what was stated
by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani,
interviewed by SkyTg24.
Yesterday, the operator Nord Stream Ag announced that the lines of the Nord Stream pipeline will be closed from 11 to 21 July for "maintenance work".
"From 11 to 21 July 2022 the company Nord Stream Ag will carry out a temporary closure of both pipelines of the Nord Stream to carry out planned maintenance works, including tests of mechanical components and automation systems to ensure effective, safe and reliable operation. of the pipeline ", the company had announced.
If Russia closed the gas taps, Italy would suffer less than other European countries, "it is clear, however, that
we would have a difficult winter
and frankly
no one wants to take restrictive measures
. One thing is to say we lower the heating temperature by one degree, or to say for a few months we go on with coal-fired plants, because in the meantime we save gas temporarily, one thing is to say we must stop the activities. We try not to do this, but I must say that we are in a fairly good position at the moment ":, ha called Cingolani.
The EU imports more gas from the US than from Russia
"Russia's recent sharp cuts in natural gas flows to the EU make this the first month in history in which the European Union has imported more liquid gas (LNG ) from the United States and via a gas pipeline from Russia ".
Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency writes on Twitter.
"The decline in Russian supply requires efforts to reduce EU demand and prepare for a harsh winter," he adds.
Gazprom: exports reduced by 31% in 2022
The Russian giant Gazprom reduced gas production by 8.6% in the first six months of 2022 and exports to countries not belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States by 31% (Csi , former Soviet republics).
Gazprom itself announced it, according to Tass.
The daily average of exports in June fell by a quarter compared to last May.
