Największy koncern Niemiec: nie potrzebujemy Nord Stream 2 (pl) / Germany’s largest corporation: we do not need Nord Stream 2 (en)
Największy koncern Niemiec: nie potrzebujemy Nord Stream 2 (pl) / Germany’s largest corporation: we do not need Nord Stream 2 (en)
4 comments
Text:
Germany’s largest corporation: we do not need Nord Stream 2
Germany’s largest energy company has declared the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 useless. There are enough transmission pipelines and terminals in the EU to secure the Community with gas.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which cost 10 billion euros and was built in defiance of U.S. sanctions, may not be needed, Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE, Germany’s largest electricity supplier, said on Wednesday.
RWE’s position is in opposition to the two other German energy companies involved in financing Nord Stream 2 – Uniper and Winetrshall. Each of them gave Gazprom a 950 million euro loan, which the Russians were likely to pay back with cheap gas. The vague prospects of launching a finished gas pipeline are causing both companies serious financial losses.
According to the head of RWE, although Germany needs Russian gas and this raw material will be important for the country’s energy system for a long time to come, the need for the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline is not so obvious. Considering how many pipelines already exist, launching a new one “may not be necessary”(quoted by TASS).
The German reminded that Ukraine’s gas main is the largest gas transmission system in Europe, capable of pumping up to 140 billion cubic meters per year. In addition, there is the Yamal-Europe pipeline with a capacity of 33 bcm, and Nord Stream (the northern gas pipeline), which transports 55 bcm per year.
In the south works the Turkish Stream with a capacity of 32 billion cubic meters per year, of which 16 billion can be delivered to the southern European countries through the second, export pipeline.
The head of RWE reminded that Gazprom’s exports to the EU last year amounted to only 146 billion cubic meters, the minimum volume in the last six years and 40 percent less than the capacity of existing and working pipelines (244 billion cubic meters per year).
“One thing is clear: when evaluating Nord Stream 2, we in Germany must be aware of the importance that natural gas has and will continue to have for our energy system for a long time to come,” – he stressed.
A complete cutoff of Russian gas supplies, according to Krebber, Germany can withstand for a very short time, no more than a few weeks. But Moscow’s dependence on its largest customer, Germany, is no less, the RWE CEO stressed. “We need Russian natural gas, and Russia needs foreign currency.
The previous Chancellor Angela Merkel neglected to diversify gas supply sources. That is why today Germany – the EU’s largest economy – is one of the few without LNG terminals. The terminals operating in the Community and the UK can produce up to 240 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Krebber urged German authorities to take steps to ensure the country’s energy security. “This can be done by creating state reserves of gas, as is the case with oil,” he said.
Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
I guess they are referring to this interview: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/rwe-chief-says-germany-should-consider-national-gas-reserve-2022-01-25/
Though I haven’t found more detailed information in english-speaking media that would confirm statement “We do not need NS2” and only something more along the lines of “we need each other” + “we need gas reserves”. I don’t know German so I couldn’t find any proper-proper sources either.
Although the claims (and calculations) indeed seem interesting.
I cannot find this statement anywhere. I’ve looked up Tass (in Russian) and English as well as Google using advanced site operators and there’s no statement from Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE claiming such anywhere. I’ve also searched on Yandex in Russian, again no such statement. His interview with Reuters also doesn’t mention any such statements. Can anyone help me find this claim?
Nord Stream 2 is not even operational to this day and there are no shortages. Of course we do not need this piece of shit pipeline to keep everything going.