MOSCOW: Gas flowed east along the usually westbound Yamal-Europe pipeline for a 29th consecutive day on Tuesday as Polish buyers sought stored gas from Germany instead of buying at currently high spot prices from Russian supplier Gazprom. “For now, European customers are not looking for more gas from Gazprom, likely due to the elevated gas prices, and are covering demand via gas from storages,” VTB Capital said in a note. Buyers drew 15.6 billion cubic metres of gas from European storage last month in the fourth largest drawdown since records began a decade ago, VTB Capital noted.
The Dutch TTF front-month contract gas contract on Tuesday was up 3.4% at 80 euros per MWh, indicating gas next month could be much cheaper than in January. That is well below half the all-time high of 184.95 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) hit when the Yamal flows reversed on Dec 21. Russia is anxious for German approval of the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline which will double its export capacity via the Baltic Sea.
But amid political tensions, prompted most recently by Russia amassing troops near its border with Ukraine, German authorities have said that approval could take some months. Germany cannot rule out using Nord Stream 2 as a means of political pressure against the Kremlin in case of further Russian aggression towards Ukraine, German Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael Roth told broadcaster ARD on Tuesday.
For their part, Gazprom and the Kremlin deny withholding supply, saying that long-term contracts have been honoured and Moscow stands ready to send more provided there are requests from customers.
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