Novak warns of gas shortage in Europe due to sanctions

This year the Europeans had to cut their gas consumption by 40-50 billion cubic meters. m due to the closure of enterprises for the production of fertilizers, gas chemistry, metallurgy and "this is just the beginning",

The EU's decision to impose a gas price ceiling and other sanctions are provoking a long-term crisis and gas shortages in the region. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister of RUSSIA Alexander Novak in an interview with TASS.

According to him, the decision to introduce a ceiling on gas prices shows that the EU authorities "are not guided by economic sound calculation", but "flirt with their voters", receiving momentary political benefits, but not economic ones.

“If we talk about long-term prospects, then with such decisions they provoke a deep long-term crisis, destabilization in Europe,” he noted.

Novak pointed to the limited resources and short-term growth of gas production in Norway and the UK, and added that LNG supplies to the EU could be unstable.

Novak thoughtthat there is no one to replace the supply of energy resources from Russia Politics

The Deputy Prime Minister also named two factors that influenced the fact that now the European Union has a relatively calm situation with gas and there is no sharp shortage.

“Lockdowns in CHINA have contained demand growth, while warm weather has reduced consumption in Europe. However, even despite this, the Europeans had to cut gas consumption this year by 40-50 billion cubic meters. m of gas due to the closure of enterprises for the production of fertilizers, gas chemistry, metallurgy," the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, assuring that "this is only the beginning."

Read on RBC Pro Risk group: which employees are the easiest to change jobs HEAD of OpenAI: “I love my job so much that I am ready to do it for free” Cities from bunkers:how billionaires around the world are preparing for the apocalypse How much the mental HEALTH of Russians has suffered in 2022

On December 19, the European Union agreed on a gas price ceiling at all European hubs in the amount of €180 per megawatt hour (about $2,000 per 1,000 cubic meters). The restriction will take effect on February 15, 2023.

Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov called the restrictions a violation of the market pricing process. “An attack on the market process, any reference to the ceiling cannot be accepted,” the presidential spokesman said.

He assured that Russia will take retaliatory measures to limit the prices of its oil and gas while they are worked out.

On December 22, Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed a decree banning Gazprom from purchasing gas from joint ventures with European Wintershall and OMV above a set price. The Kremlin assured that he was not connected with the gas price ceiling.

It is about paying for gas supplies and services for areas of the Achimov deposits of the Urengoy field at a price higher than that set by the government.