Page 106 - RusRPTNov22

September's results, Russian gas consumption decreased from more than 40% to 8% of total consumption and continues to fall, said Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Research Center. Given this, the expert doubts Russia will invest in restoring the Nordic Stream pipelines, which supplied blue fuel to the EU before suffering a series of accidents. The volume of gas supplied to the European and global markets will be small. In addition, according to Kharchenko, oil production in Russia also continues to decline. The introduction of price restrictions will be a significant blow to the Russian Federation’s revenues. "I want to believe that the $60 price ceiling for Russian oil, which is being actively discussed, will work. This will be a huge blow to Russia's oil revenues," Kharchenko said.
Supplies of Russian gas through Turkish territory to Europe via TurkStream will be insufficient for turning the country into an international energy hub, the leading Turkish expert on energy issues Beril Tugrul said in an interview broadcast by the TV-24 channel.
"The transformation of Turkey into such a hub may be facilitated by supplies to the place of the proposed construction on its territory of a distribution center for gas from Azerbaijan, Iran, and in the future Israel, Lebanon and, probably, Egypt and Qatar. In this case it will be possible to pump more than 100 bln cubic meters of gas to Europe through Turkish territory as the countries of the continent need it badly," she explained.
Amid the Russian President’s current proposal, Turkey can turn into a hub purely on Russian gas supplies alone, the expert believes. However, Europe may abandon it, which is why gas from Russia, whose volumes do not exceed 35% of the European countries’ demand, may be used by Turkey for its own needs, whereas gas from other countries may be re-exported to Europe through existing and new lines. In total, the question is about 155 bln cubic meters of gas per year, Tugrul said. "Once more than 100 bln cubic meters of gas per year run through Turkey’s territory to Europe it will be safe to say it has turned into an international energy hub," she noted.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is destroyed and most likely will never be used. The German government believes that the damage to the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline makes its operation impossible, reported DW. "The act of sabotage with powerful explosions likely had negative consequences for both threads, so their technical use is currently impossible," says the federal government's response to the official request from the deputy head of the right-wing Alternative for Germany faction, Leif-Eric Holm. The government also notes that the gas pipeline never received the necessary certification and, therefore, cannot be launched in any case. Holm stated that after the sabotage, the ruling coalition consisting of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Green Party, and the Free Democratic Party hopes the issue of supplies via Nord Stream 2 has been discarded.
106 RUSSIA Country Report November 2022 www.intellinews.com