LNG

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her natural gas and energy ties to Russia during her 16-year tenure, including the building of the Nord Stream II gas pipeline from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany where LNG will soon replace Gazprom supplies.

Russian natural gas company Gazprom confirmed it had cut off pipeline natural gas to Germany purchased by Denmark's Orsted and Shell subsidiary Shell Energy as output by the Saint Petersburg-based company declined almost 5 percent and deliveries to Europe dropped by a quarter in the first five months through May 2022.

Gazprom said gas production fell by 4.8 percent year-on-year to 211.4 billion cubic metres compared with the same January-to-May period of 2021.

Gas exports to non-Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, meaning to Western Europe, dropped by 27.6 percent, or by 23.2Bln cubic metres, in the January-to-May 2022 period and amounted to 61 Bcm.

“Gazprom confirms complete suspension of gas supplies to Denmark’s Orsted Salg & Service A/S and Shell Energy Europe due to failure to pay in roubles,” it said.

“As of the end of the working Gazprom Export did not yet receive a payment from Orsted Salg & Service for the gas supplied in April, which was to be made in compliance with the Russian President's Decree No. 172 dated March 31, 2022,” it added.

“No payment has been received from Shell Energy Europe for gas delivered in April either,” it added.

Export data

In its gas production and export data, Gazprom said the average daily exports of Gazprom in May fell by 9 percent in monthly terms to 351.6 million cubic metres for  deliveries of gas with confirmed nominations.

Gazprom added that gas deliveries to China via the “Power of Siberia” pipeline were increasing, but it did not provide any figures.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, Moscow has demanded that clients from “unfriendly countries”, including the 27 EU member states, pay for their gas in roubles.

The new requirement is aimed at stopping Western financial sanctions against Russia’s central bank further weakening the rouble.

So far Poland, Bulgaria, Finland and the Netherlands have had their natural gas deliveries suspended over refusing to pay in roubles.

Dutch natural gas trader GasTerra was the most recent not to comply with Gazprom’s payment requirements in roubles and consequently was cut off by the Russian company.

GasTerra, which buys and trades gas on behalf of the Dutch Government, said it had contracted elsewhere for the 2 Bcm it had expected to receive from Gazprom through October 2022.

GasTerra is 50 percent-owned by Dutch Government entities while another joint 50 percent stake is shared between Shell and ExxonMobil.

Oct 5 (LNGJ) - Nord Stream II, the Gazprom-led pipeline natural gas project taking additional gas from Russia to Germany and the European Union in competition to LNG, has started filling one of its two pipelines ahead of commercial operations scheduled for year-end. The pipeline will double Russia’s existing gas pipeline export capacity under the Baltic Sea to 110 billion cubic metres, equal to more than a half of Russia’s current total pipeline gas supplies to Europe.

Nord Stream AG, the natural gas pipeline company for the Russia-to-Germany Nord Steam I Pipeline, one of the main competitors to LNG, will temporarily shut down both lines of its system for routine maintenance for 10 days, starting today.

The German Association of Gas Transmission System Operators (FNB Gas), which groups a dozen companies overseeing 40,000 kilometres of natural gas pipeline and other infrastructure, has launched its annual survey of development plans for gas, storage and LNG and for a second year including hydrogen and green gases.