The war on Russian gas: Germany fears supply disruptions

The war in Ukraine threatens the supply of natural gas to European countries that depend on it.

Germany first warns of a state of emergency due to Russia's insistence on paying in rubles for its natural gas exports

Reuters

30/03/2022

Wednesday, 30 March 2022, 11:47 Updated: 12:30

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Germany issued an "early warning" today (Wednesday) about the possibility of a state of emergency in the gas supply, in order to prepare for the risk of disruptions or stopping the flow of natural gas from Russia to the country.

The warning - the clearest sign so far that the EU is preparing for supply disruptions following the harsh sanctions imposed on Russia - comes at a time when Russia plans to implement a new mechanism of payments on gas in rubles, instead of in dollars.

Russia's demand to pay for its gas in local currency has been rejected by the 7G countries, including Germany, and has raised concerns about disruptions.

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Demonstration against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Germany (Photo: Reuters)

step one

The German warning is the first of three steps and does not currently include state intervention through the gas allocation.

However, German Economy Minister Robert Habakkuk urged consumers and companies to cut consumption because "every kilowatt hour is important."

He added that Germany needed to "step up its defenses in order to be prepared for any escalation by Russia."

In 2021, Russia supplied 55% of German gas imports.

This figure fell to 40% in the first quarter of 2022, but according to Dust, Germany will not achieve full independence from Russian gas supplies by mid-2024. Poland, which is also dependent on Russian gas, announced earlier that it plans to stop using Russian oil by the end of 2022.

"We will impose a full embargo on Russian coal, and I hope that by April or May we will stop using Russian coal altogether," said Polish Prime Minister Mataus Morawiecki.

"Everything will be done so that by the end of 2022 we will no longer use Russian oil," he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: Giphy)

40% of the gas

Russia announced last week that it would formulate a mechanism for "unfriendly countries" - the countries that imposed sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine - in order to pay for the gas in rubles and not in dollars or euros.

Earlier today, Russia warned the EU that if the organization is interested in natural gas, it must pay in rubles, adding that exports of oil, grain, metals, fertilizers, coal and wood will soon be priced in rubles as well.

Europe imports 40% of its gas from Russia and pays mainly in euros.

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