Due to sanctions imposed by Russia against European energy companies, Gazprom will no longer be able to supply gas to Europe through the Yamal-Europe pipeline. The Russian state-owned company reported this on Thursday. The pipeline is operated by a company that is on the sanctions list. It is already the second pipeline whose supply has been shut down.
Russia announced on Wednesday evening a list of European energy companies with which Russian companies are no longer allowed to do business. The country did so in response to Western sanctions against Russia. One of those companies is the Polish Europol Gaz, the operator of the Yamal-Europe pipeline that sends gas from Russia via Poland to Europe and Turkey.
As a result, Gazprom is no longer allowed to use the pipeline, which in normal times accounts for one sixth of the supply to Europe and Turkey. The German energy watchdog immediately responded on Thursday that hardly any gas has been entering Germany through the pipeline for weeks. The majority would remain in Poland.
The impact on the gas supply to Europe is not immediately clear, but it is already the second pipeline to be closed in a short time. On Wednesday, Ukraine had to supply the supply through a pipeline in the country stopbecause it was damaged by the war. The government said the gas was being diverted through another line, but Gazprom said it was technically impossible. This concerns almost a quarter of the gas that flows to Europe via Russia.
The gas supply is not completely shut off, however, because gas still flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, among other things. It is not clear whether that is enough to guarantee security of supply. Europe gets about 40 percent of its gas from Russia.
Another company on the sanctions list is Wingas, a former German subsidiary of Gazprom that supplies Eneco in our country. According to an Eneco spokesperson, Wingas is still meeting its obligations for the time being, but he was not yet able to make a statement about the future.
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