Following the 10-day gas shutdown in July, Russia's largest natural gas pipeline to Europe, "Beixi No. 1", has been suspended again. The Russian side said that the gas supply will be suspended for three days because of equipment maintenance. A spokesperson for the Russian president recently said that technical problems caused by Western sanctions are the only reason that hinders Russia's gas supply.
Before the suspension of gas supply on Nord Stream 1, EU had generally reached its "winter" gas storage target - the filling level of natural gas storage facilities reached 80%, but many EU member states still lag behind this goal. The sudden gas suspension of "North Stream 1" disrupted the pace of EU natural gas reserves, and EU buyers had to buy natural gas from other sources at high prices to meet demand.
Russia: The only obstacle to gas supply lies in the West's sanctions
According to Russian News Agency , from 4:00 on August 31 to 4:00 on September 3, "Beixi-1" will suspend gas supply for 3 days.
reported that the suspension of gas supply was due to the fact that the only turbine at the Portovaya gas station, , that is working, requires routine maintenance. The maintenance work will be completed by experts from Gazprom and Siemens, Germany.
also reported that if the pipeline is closed for 3 days, Europe will receive nearly 100 million cubic meters of Russian natural gas less. After maintenance is completed, the gas transmission volume of "Beixi No. 1" will return to the daily level of 33 million cubic meters without technical failures.
On August 30, local time, a man stood in front of a natural gas pipeline facility. Photo/Visual China
According to the BBC (BBC), the "North Stream 1" natural gas pipeline is about 1,200 kilometers long, passing through the Baltic Sea from the coast near St. Petersburg, Russia to northwest Germany. The pipeline has been operating since 2011 and has a maximum daily gas transmission capacity of 170 million cubic meters.
French Minister of Energy Transformation Agnes Panier-Lunacee recently accused Russia of "using natural gas as a weapon of war." In response, Russian Presidential spokesman Peskov denied this, stressing that technical problems caused by Western sanctions are the only reason that hinders Russia's gas supply.
Peskov said Western sanctions have hindered the daily maintenance and maintenance work of the Nord Stream 1 and the supply of key components. “We guarantee that there is nothing else to hinder the supply of natural gas except for the technical problems caused by sanctions.”
This is the second time that Beixi No. 1 has suspended gas supply since this year. In July, Russia announced that it would close Nord Stream 1 for 10 days due to annual maintenance needs. After reopening, Russia said that due to equipment failure, "Beixi No. 1" could only maintain operation at 20% of the transport volume.
"North Stream 1" which affects European energy security
Although "North Stream 1" is a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, it is enough to affect the energy security of the entire Europe.
According to Al Jazeera , "North Stream 1" is Russia's largest natural gas pipeline to Europe. After Russian natural gas arrives in Germany through this pipeline, it is transported to other parts of Europe.
On August 15th local time, Emslan Gas Power Plant, Germany. Photo/Data from Statista, Visual China
data statistics agency, shows that in 2021, the natural gas transmission volume of "Beixi No. 1" reached 59.2 billion cubic meters, 4.2 billion cubic meters higher than the annual transmission volume designed by the pipeline. According to statistics from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the total amount of natural gas imported from Russia by the EU in the same year was 155 billion cubic meters. In other words, the transportation volume of "Beixi No. 1" that year accounted for nearly 40% of the EU's imports of Russian natural gas.
In addition to "North Stream 1", Russia's natural gas pipelines to Europe also include "Yamar-Europe", "Brothers", and "Union". But according to Reuters , the delivery volume of these large natural gas pipelines has also declined, and one of the large natural gas pipelines passing through Ukraine has stopped gas supply in May.
Before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Germany had always hoped that the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, which cost 10 billion euros and had a maximum transmission capacity of twice the "North Stream 1", would meet the energy needs of its own and Europe. However, after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Germany suspended the project.
"If the Nord Stream 1 is cut off, or Germany loses all energy imports from Russia, the entire Northwest Europe will feel the impact." Netherlands Energy Minister Rob Jetten said in an interview with Reuters in July that the Netherlands can increase natural gas production to help neighboring countries, but a significant increase in mining is at risk of earthquakes.
Groningen gas field in the Netherlands is one of the few large gas fields in Western Europe. The exploitable volume of the gas field is about 450 billion cubic meters, which is equivalent to the amount of natural gas imported from Russia in three years. But natural gas exploitation has caused earthquakes in the local area. According to the Dutch State Television (NOS), people in Groningen held a one-month protest from August to September this year to protest against the government's ineffective response to the earthquake risks caused by mining.
Sudden gas shutdown disrupted the pace of European gas storage
This summer, the entire EU was busy pouring gas into their storage facilities. Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Austria have built giant underground natural gas storage facilities. According to EU policies, EU countries that do not have storage capacity will share storage facilities in other countries.
On August 30, local time, a man was wearing a helmet with the logo of the gas pipeline operator Gascade. Photo/Visual China
According to data from the European Gas Infrastructure Organization (GIE), as of August 30, the current filling level of natural gas storage facilities in the EU has reached 80%, reaching its lowest "winter" storage target. The EU proposed in May this year that in the context of the energy crisis, the EU's natural gas storage equipment filling level before November 1 can meet the basic energy needs in winter. In the next few years, the EU will gradually increase this target to 90%.
Among them, as of August 30, the filling level of Germany, the largest economy in the EU, was 84%, while the filling level of France and Italy was 92% and 82% respectively. However, Austria , Hungary , Bulgaria , Latvia and other countries have not yet reached the target line of 80%. According to Reuters, Germany's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic and Climate Protection Robert Habeck August 28 said that the filling speed of Germany's natural gas storage facilities was faster than expected. The country's own storage target is to fill 85% of its natural gas storage facilities by October this year. Habeck said this goal may be accomplished in early September.
However, the sudden suspension of gas supply by "Beixi No. 1" disrupted the rhythm of gas storage in Europe. Klaus Muller, president of German power grid regulator, said that if Russia can restore its previous 20% transmission volume after three days of shutting down the gas, Germany can still deal with its energy problems.
Uniper, the largest natural gas buyer in Europe, said that as Russia's natural gas supply has fallen 80% from the contract level, the company has to buy natural gas from the energy market at a high price, and it needs to pay an additional 100 million euros per day. The company has exhausted the 9 billion euro credit line provided by the German government and is currently asking the government to add 4 billion euro credit lines.
《New York Times 》 said that although the prices of natural gas in Europe have dropped recently, the current price is still about 9 times the price of the same period last year.
Beijing News reporter Chen Yikai
Editor Zhang Lei Proofreading Li Lijun
