Ukraine warns Germany against rising gas prices | News from Germany about Ukraine

If the Nord Stream 2 (NS-2) gas pipeline is put into operation, gas prices in Germany may rise, said Serhiy Makogon, head of the Ukrainian GTS Operator, in an interview with the German publication Die Welt, which will be published on Monday, 24 January.

According to Makogon, “Germany’s main mistake is taking Ukraine’s gas pipeline system for granted,” but once SP-2 is operational, the Ukrainian network will no longer be in use.

“Russia wants to empty our pipes”

Gazprom will control all accesses, and then prices will rise, including in Germany,” the representative of Ukraine warned. In his opinion, Germany should understand that additional volumes of gas will not be supplied through SP-2, as it was once This gas pipeline will replace Ukrainian pipes.

He also noted that despite the high prices for blue fuel in Europe, Ukrainian gas pipelines are now only 20 percent involved. Russia paid for transit in the amount of 110 million cubic meters per day, but pumps only 50 million. “This makes no sense at a time when gas production in Russia has grown, and demand for gas in Europe is at a very high level,” Makogon said.

SP-2 certification

Earlier, on January 4, it was reported that the chief executive officer of the German energy company Uniper, Klaus-Dieter Maubach, expects SP-2 certification in mid-2022. However, “in the event of an aggravation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the pipeline may become the object of US sanctions,” Maubach said.

In his opinion, the failure of this project represents “an economic risk for us and a risk for gas supplies to Europe.” Uniper is one of the five European energy companies that financed the construction of NS-2 by 50%, along with the German Wintershall Dea, the Anglo-Dutch Shell, the Austrian OMV and the French Engie.

The Federal Grid Agency (BNetzA) in Germany suspended the certification process for NSP-2 in November 2021 until a company is established in Germany that could become the operator of the gas pipeline. The head of BNetzA noted that in the first six months of 2022, it is not worth counting on the completion of the certification process.

On January 21, 2022, it became known that the European Commission will hold consultations with Ukraine on the certification of SP-2.

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Author: Andrey Gurkov