Russia “manipulates” the winter of Europe .. Gazprom delays filling its...

The Russian natural gas giant Gazprom has postponed the refilling of its gas depots in Europe, while it refilled its depots in Russia.

This step increases the gas giant’s fears of a crisis in gas supplies to Europe, especially with the onset of winter and increased demand for energy.

And Bloomberg News Agency indicated that Gazprom, the largest supplier of natural gas to Europe, is slow to refill its warehouses in Europe, after it had withdrawn quantities of them to compensate for the shortfall in supplies coming from Russia as a result of a fire accident at one of its gas facilities last month.

Europe is racing against time to refill its natural gas reserves before entering the winter season, which is witnessing a significant increase in gas demand.

According to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, which is concerned with data on the gas sector in Europe, all gas deposits in Europe are currently filled with only 72%.

Meanwhile, Gazprom’s Katrina warehouse in Germany, which was almost completely filled this year, is currently 44% less than its capacity.

The German Rieden warehouse, used by Gazprom, is also 5% below its capacity.

A few days ago, the Kremlin confirmed that the rapid operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would help combat high gas prices in Europe.

This comes despite the growing US criticism of the Russian gas pipeline, and critics accuse Moscow of deliberately limiting its gas supplies to Europe in an attempt to speed up the operation of “Nord Stream 2”.

The pipeline is expected to double Russian gas supplies to Germany, but Russia’s critics warn that Moscow could exploit it in its geopolitical disputes.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Without any doubt, the rapid and quickest possible start-up of the Nord Stream 2 project will significantly balance natural gas prices in Europe.”

Goldman Sachs said in an analysis published on Tuesday that the “record” rise in gas prices was due to “exceptionally low” storage levels, as well as expectations of a cold winter ahead.

Russia fulfilled all export orders but did not deliver any surplus, pointing out that a fire at a gas processing facility belonging to the giant “Gazprom” company slowed shipping operations.

Natural gas price hike

The International Energy Agency has warned that natural gas prices may continue to rise over the next month, adding to pressures on consumers in Europe ahead of winter.

“We may still see a limited rise in gas prices in the coming days and weeks,” the agency’s CEO, Fatih Birol, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV, adding that “the most important factor here in the short term will be the conditions that will prevail during the winter season.”

Energy prices rose in Europe, the United States and Asia, as economies emerged from the Corona pandemic and consumption recovered.

Gas prices in Europe have tripled this year as countries tend to replace their depleted reserves, which in turn has led to higher electricity costs across the continent.