France no longer receiving Russian pipeline gas
Gas flow from Germany to France has been halted, French gas transmission system operator GRTgaz reported on Friday, adding that the nation hadn’t received any natural gas from Russia via the pipeline since June 15.
The operator also said that French gas storage facilities were filled to 56% of capacity, up from 19% in mid-March, stressing that France wouldn’t face any difficulties in meeting summer demand for the energy source.
Earlier this week, Russian energy giant Gazprom warned that it would sharply cut its gas deliveries to Europe over technical issues arising from Western sanctions. The company said that German energy equipment operator Siemens Energy failed to return repaired gas pumping units for the North Stream pipeline from a maintenance facility in Canada due to the country’s embargo on Russia.
France receives nearly 17% of its gas from Russia through network connections with Germany, which relies heavily on Russian energy supplies. The cut-off in Russian deliveries to France follows similar curtailments in Gazprom’s supply to Germany and Italy.
European importers of Russian gas have condemned Gazprom’s move as “political”, saying that the Kremlin uses energy to punish EU member states for supporting Ukraine.
Russian gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline have reportedly been reduced by 60% this week, sending prices for the fuel soaring. On Thursday, Dutch wholesale gas prices, the European benchmark, surged to more than $1,500 per thousand cubic meters for the first time since April.
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