Gazprom apparently prefers to flare off gas rather than pipe it to Germany. Does the Kremlin ruler just want to provoke us, or is there more behind it? Pipeline expert Andreas Goldthau explains the current status of Russia and its gas exports.
The air is on fire. Tongues of fire lick the afternoon sky. Dark smoke rises. The pictures come from the Finnish news portal “Yle” and are intended to show how Gazprom is currently flaring off gas in large quantities at its Portovaya compressor station near Saint Petersburg, instead of channeling it via Nord Stream 1 to Germany – where there is definitely a use for it.
But if what the pictures suggest is really true – why is Russia burning the valuable commodity en masse? Do those responsible from Vladimir Putin’s inner circle want to turn their noses up at Germany’s politicians, managers and of course us citizens? True to the motto: The heat is on – it’s getting cold where you are. Pure provocation?
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“It is difficult to assess from a distance what the pictures from Finland mean,” says Andreas Goldthau in an interview with FOCUS online. Goldthau is a professor at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt and an expert on energy and energy security issues. Normally “The flaring doesn’t happen at the compressor station, but in the field,” he clarifies. “In that respect, I’m very surprised.”
Nevertheless, Russia could of course only flare off its gas on a large scale just before the pipeline. Data from the US space agency Nasa regularly shows larger flames on the Portovaya site.
From a purely technical point of view, error devils could also rage in the compressor station. Flaring would make it possible to keep the line pressure constant in the event of a fault. But Goldthau does not want to rule out a targeted provocation either. “But it’s probably more likely that Russia doesn’t know what to do with all the gas.” The large gas fields in Yamal, Siberia, primarily serve Nord Stream 1. “It cannot simply be sold to China either.” There is no infrastructure for that. Because this is primarily oriented to the west.
“The Russians don’t have any major alternatives at the moment, so they have to shut down production,” Goldthau makes clear. Because the gas fields are under pressure, however, this is only going slowly. Until then, we will probably continue to see the gas flares in pictures. The flaring of the valuable export good is already leaving its mark in Russia. “Gazprom has a development contract for the Russian state,” says Goldthau. Here a kind of cross-subsidy takes place in society and other industries. “Because the group makes a large part of its profits from exports, this money is now missing in the country.”
The political scientist from Erfurt thus indirectly confirms a recently published study by the Yale School of Management, according to which Russia is much more dependent on Europe than vice versa. “In my opinion, the sanctions imposed by the West are hitting the Russian state and economy hard, even if it may appear otherwise from the outside,” reports Goldthau.
But what about gas imports at the moment? In response to a FOCUS online request, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) said: “We are not speculating about any deliveries from Russia.” Even if gas is flowing through Nord Stream 1 again today, deliveries are still at a low level, although technically nothing stands in the way of full capacity utilization and there are delivery obligations on the part of Russia. “The situation is very serious,” it said.
But at least: “The security of supply is currently still guaranteed.” Currently, the quantities could be procured on the market, albeit at high prices. And it will continue to be saved. “The storage facilities are now at around 70 percent.” The largest storage facility in Germany, however, the Rehden storage facility, only has 46 percent. However, if you consider that the figure three weeks ago was only a slim two percent, there is certainly reason for hope.
