Just before the heating season, gas prices rose steeply.
But anyone who hoped that the Kremlin could increase gas deliveries is mistaken.
Berlin - The whole world is suffering from rising energy prices.
Russia is currently facing allegations of deliberately reducing its gas supplies in order to accelerate the commissioning of Nord Stream 2.
President Vladimir Putin rejects this.
The suspicion of wanting to exert political pressure is difficult to dispel.
Several experts saw evidence of this in an interview with the Spiegel.
The Russian state-owned company Gazprom is delivering much less gas than the high demand would allow, Russian energy expert Mikhail Krutichin told the magazine in a report on Wednesday (October 20)
Gazprom could benefit financially right now: "Economically, there would be a considerable incentive to deliver more," said Hanns Koenig, market expert at the consulting firm Aurora Energy Research,
Der Spiegel
.
Gas dispute with Russia: energy expert: "EU is now de facto declared war"
For Krutichin, the energy turnaround also plays a role in the matter: Because of the plans for renewable energies, Russia is "now declaring war on the EU in fact," he speculated.
Because in the medium or long term, the EU will import less gas from Russia.
Now there are also natural causes for fluctuating delivery quantities, emphasize the Spiegel authors and quote Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at Liechtenstein’s VP Bank.
“The pipeline flow keeps collapsing, which is due to the forest fires in Siberia that are now common in the summer months.
Gas fields must then be taken off the grid. "
And Gazprom emphasizes that it has increased the delivery volume to Germany by 28 percent compared to 2020.
Government spokesman Steffen Seibert confirmed that the group was meeting its contractual delivery obligations.
Gazprom controversy: "Spiegel" reports irregularities in two pipelines
According to the report, this does not show the whole picture.
Because Russia could possibly throttle the supply via lesser known pipelines such as Jamal and Druzhba ("friendship").
There are entry points in Germany in Greifswald, Mallnow, Deutschneudorf or Waidhaus.
VP economist Thomas Gitzel examined the gas quantities.
His finding: "Only in Greifswald, where Nord Stream ends, is the normal gas flow available," says Gitzel.
"A massive slump is noticeable at the other feed-in points."
Energy experts assess the situation similarly, despite possible natural disruptions: "Gazprom will export significantly less gas to the EU in 2021 than in comparable previous years," said Steffen Bukold, head of the Energy Comment industry service,
Der Spiegel
.
Gazprom publishes balance sheet - but does not comment on "Spiegel" request
The report also indicates that the data published by Gazprom itself confirm this trend.
The figures show that the group delivered 16 percent less gas to the EU and Ukraine in the first half of October than in September.
The amount of gas per day in the first half of October was even around a quarter lower than in October 2020.
Compared with the October months back to 2016, the decline is even greater.
A
Spiegel
inquiry to Gazprom about the collapse in the delivery volumes from Yamal and Druzhba remained unanswered until Wednesday morning.
(frs)