The Kremlin assured on Wednesday that the commissioning of the controversial, recently completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline would rebalance gas prices in Europe, which are reaching historic highs.
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"
There is no doubt that the fastest possible commissioning of Nord Stream 2 will significantly balance the price parameters of natural gas in Europe,
" Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured during a telephone briefing. .
On Wednesday, prices reached 79.31 euros per megawatt hour, an all-time high on the European benchmark market, the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), after soaring by nearly 30% since the start of the week.
“
Exceptionally low
”
storage levels
In a note released late Tuesday evening, Goldman Sachs indicates that this "
record
" price is due to "
exceptionally low
"
storage levels
in Europe, despite the forecast of a cold winter.
Russia has moderated its exports in recent months, fulfilling its commitments but not responding to increased demand, in particular due to a fire in August at a major factory of the giant Gazprom.
Some, the Ukrainian authorities in particular, accuse Moscow of increasing the pressure on prices to speed up the commissioning of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, completed on September 10 and now awaiting the green light from the German regulator.
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Ukraine, Russia's sworn enemy, is getting paid for the transit of Russian gas to Europe, and is therefore fighting the Nord Stream 2 project which bypasses it and which it considers a “
geopolitical weapon
”.
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