Page 9 - EurOil Week 02 2022

EurOil POLICY EurOil

IEA blasts Russia for

creating gas crisis

RUSSIA THE influential head of the International Energy regulators to approve Nord Stream 2’s launch.
Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol has placed the blame However, various analysts have argued that
Russia has cut back squarely on Russia for causing a gas crisis in Gazprom likely is at its full production capacity
supplies to Europe Europe at a time of “heightened geopolitical and therefore could not send extra gas even if it
significantly, but the tensions.” wanted. As evidenced by the current crunch, the
reasons are unclear. Birol said Russian supplies to Europe were sharp rebound in gas demand in Europe caught
down 25% versus 2020 levels in the fourth quar- many suppliers unaware and this may also be
ter of 2021 and 22% below pre-pandemic levels. the case with Gazprom. Like many of its com-
But Moscow could ramp up supplies by a third if petitors, the company scaled back investments
it wanted, he said. in new supply in the wake of the pandemic and
“There are strong elements of tightness in delayed some projects.
the European gas market due to Russia’s behav- Birol’s latest comments come as talks con-
iour,” Birol said. “The current storage deficit in tinue this week between Russian, US and NATO
the European Union is largely due to Gazprom. officials aimed at finding a resolution to tensions
I would note that today’s low Russian gas flows between Russia and Ukraine. Russia has amassed
to Europe coincide with heightened geopolitical a force of over 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian
tensions over Ukraine.” border, according to reports, and Ukraine claims
The IEA has signalled in the past that Rus- it is preparing for an invasion later this month.
sia could be doing more to alleviate the energy Moscow rules out such an intention, but
crunch in Europe. But this is the first time that wants a commitment that NATO will sever any
the Paris-based agency has claimed Russia’s military ties with Ukraine and prevent the coun-
actions are a primary cause of the crisis. try from joining the alliance. Such a prospect is
Russia insists it is complying with its long- a long way off anyway, and there is not a consen-
term gas supply contracts, and there is no evi- sus among NATO members that Ukraine should
dence that this is not the case. But Gazprom be admitted. The Kremlin has also demanded
has faced criticism for not releasing additional that Ukraine’s separatist eastern territories of
supplies onto the spot market. Some European Donetsk and Lugansk receive special status. This
politicians say it is withholding this supply to would allow Russia to cement its influence in the
drive up gas prices and put pressure on European country. ™

Week 02 13•January•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9