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It looks as if Russia has finally decided to do what it should have one MONTHS AGO.
Now Russia will be looking to supply gas through Turkey and completely by-pass Ukraine.
Europe can take it or lump it.
Nothing yet on this from RT or Sputnik.
Europe
plunged into energy crisis as Russia cuts off gas supply via Ukraine
- Gas prices rise in London
- Bulgaria reaches 'crisis' point
14
January, 2015
Russia
cut gas exports to Europe by 60 per cent today, plunging the
continent into an energy crisis 'within hours' as a dispute with
Ukraine escalated.
This
morning, gas companies in Ukraine said that Russia had completely cut
off their supply.
Six
countries reported a complete shut-off of Russian gas shipped via
Ukraine today, in a sharp escalation of a struggle over energy that
threatens Europe as winter sets in.
Bulgaria,
Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in
gas shipments from Russia through Ukraine.
Croatia
said it was temporarily reducing supplies to industrial customers
while Bulgaria said it had enough gas for only 'for a few days' and
was in a 'crisis situation'.
Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, left, speaks to Gazprom chairman
Alexei Miller during a meeting yesterday
The
European Union in Brussels called the sudden cut-off to some of its
member countries 'completely unacceptable'.
The
UK is suffering one of its coldest nights this century with
temperatures plunging to as low as -10C.
Though
Britain is one of Gazprom's largest importers - relying on the
company for some 16 per cent of consumption in 2007, according to The
Times, the gas is supplied through a complicated swap scheme that
means supplies themselves may not be affected.
Prices,
on the other hand, rose during trading in London today.
Dmitry
Medvedev and Vladimir Putin on the slopes last week. Putin ordered
Gazprom to cut supplies to and through Ukraine by around three-fifths
The
dispute, coupled with Israel's military operation in Gaza, also
pushed oil up to a three-week high of $49.91 in New York yesterday.
Russia,
whose main export is oil, stands to benefit from a recovery in
prices.
'Without
prior warning and in clear contradiction with the reassurances given
by the highest Russian and Ukrainian authorities to the European
Union, gas supplies to some EU member states have been substantially
cut,' the EU said in a statement.
'The
Czech EU Presidency and the European Commission demand that gas
supplies be restored immediately to the EU and that the two parties
resume negotiations at once with a view to a definitive settlement of
their bilateral commercial dispute,' the presidency and the
Commission said in a joint statement.
They
added that the EU would 'intensify the dialogue with both parties so
that they can reach an agreement swiftly'.
Overnight
the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered the state energy
giant Gazprom to cut supplies to and through Ukraine by around
three-fifths amid accusations its neighbour has been siphoning off
and stealing Russian gas.
Ukraine
says the Russian move has been prompted by payment and price
disputes, a row between the two that has become almost annual.
The
effects of the dispute on the rest of Europe however is stark, said
Ukraine's main gas supplier.
Around
80 per cent of the gas European Union countries receive from Russia
comes through Ukraine.
While
Germany and France are much more exposed, it is reckoned in some
estimates that 15 per cent of Britain's supplies come from Russia
through pipelines into the UK's east coast.
'They
[the Russians] have reduced deliveries to 92million cubic metres per
24 hours compared to the promised 221million cubic metres without
explanation,' said Valentin Zemlyansky of the Ukrainian gas company
Naftogaz.
'We
do not understand how we will deliver gas to Europe. This means that
in a few hours problems with supplies to Europe will begin.'
Wholesale
gas prices have already risen on the back of the rallying price of
oil, up 50 per cent in the last fortnight to more than $48 a barrel
on the back of Middle East tension over Israeli incursions into
Palestinian-held Gaza.
The
dispute stokes fears Britain is overreliant on imported gas. North
Sea stocks are dwindling, though initiatives are in place to build
the Langeled pipeline from Norway, improve underground long-term
storage facilities and receive liquefied natural gas by ship from
Africa and Asia.
Eastern
and central European countries are already reporting supply problems,
including the Czech Republic which has the current presidency of the
EU. The EU as a whole depends on Russia for 25 per cent of its gas
supplies.
From
Zero Hedge
Russia
Cuts Off Ukraine Gas Supply To 6 European Countries
14
January, 2015
Vladimir
Putin ordered the Russian state energy giant Gazprom to cut supplies
to and through Ukraine amid
accusations, according
to The Daily Mail, that
its neighbor has been siphoning off and stealing Russian gas. Due to
these"transit
risks for European consumers in the territory of Ukraine," Gazprom
cut gas exports to Europe by 60%, plunging the continent into an
energy crisis "within hours." Perhaps explaining the
explosion higher in NatGas prices (and oil) today, gas companies in
Ukraine confirmed that Russia had cut off supply; and six
countries reported a complete shut-off of Russian gas. The
EU raged that the sudden cut-off to some of its member countries was
"completely unacceptable," but
Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller later added that Russia
plans to shift all its natural gas flows crossing Ukraine to a route
via Turkey;
and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak stated
unequivocally, "the
decision has been made."
Russia plans to shift all its natural gas flows crossing Ukraine to a route via Turkey, a surprise move that the European Union’s energy chief said would hurt its reputation as a supplier.
The decision makes no economic sense, Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission’s vice president for energy union, told reporters today after talks with Russian government officials and the head of gas exporter, OAO Gazprom, in Moscow.
Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural gas supplier, plans to send 63 billion cubic meters through a proposed link under the Black Sea to Turkey, fully replacing shipments via Ukraine, Chief Executive Officer Alexey Miller said during the discussions. About 40 percent of Russia’s gas exports to Europe and Turkey travel through Ukraine’s Soviet-era network.
...
Sefcovic said he was “very surprised” by Miller’s comment, adding that relying on a Turkish route, without Ukraine, won’t fit with the EU’s gas system.
Gazprom plans to deliver the fuel to Turkey’s border with Greece and “it’s up to the EU to decide what to do” with it further, according to Sefcovic.
Which, as The Daily Mail reports, has led to a major (and imminent) problem for Europe...
Russia cut gas exports to Europe by 60 per cent today, plunging the continent into an energy crisis 'within hours' as a dispute with Ukraine escalated.
This morning, gas companies in Ukraine said that Russia had completely cut off their supply.
Six countries reported a complete shut-off of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine today, in a sharp escalation of a struggle over energy that threatens Europe as winter sets in.
Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments from Russia through Ukraine.
*
* *
As
Bloomberg goes on to note, Gazprom
has reduced
deliveries via Ukraine after price and debt disputes with
the neighboring country that twice in the past decade disrupted
supplies to the EU during freezing weather.
“Transit risks for European consumers on the territory of Ukraine remain,” Miller said in an e-mailed statement. “There are no other options” except for the planned Turkish Stream link, he said.
“We have informed our European partners, and now it is up to them to put in place the necessary infrastructure starting from the Turkish-Greek border,” Miller said.
Russia won’t hurt its image with a shift to Turkey because it has always been a reliable gas supplier and never violated its obligations, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters today in Moscow after meeting Sefcovic.
“The decision has been made,” Novak said. “We are diversifying and eliminating the risks of unreliable countries that caused problems in past years, including for European consumers.”
*
* *
That
helps to explain today's epic meltup in NatGas futures...
*
* *
"They [the Russians] have reduced deliveries to 92million cubic metres per 24 hours compared to the promised 221million cubic metres without explanation," said Valentin Zemlyansky of the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz.
"We do not understand how we will deliver gas to Europe. This means that in a few hours problems with supplies to Europe will begin."
*
* *
Check
to you Europe (i.e. Washington)... Because it's getting might cold in
Europe...
(and bear
in mind the consequences of cold, pissed off Europeans in the past).
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