Andrey Maslov: ‘Gas war continues and is bringing a lot of problems’

There is a threat that Nord Stream-1 may not restore the work

Gas prices in Europe have exceeded $3,000 per thousand cubic metres (at the moment reaching 290 euros/ MWh) and continue to grow. Investors are afraid of an energy crisis in the EU, and the euro has fallen below parity with the dollar against this background.

The gas war continues and is bringing a lot of problems. There is a threat that Nord Stream 1 may not restore operation after the start of a new three-day maintenance period, or at least not restore capacity to the end, as it was previously. Gazprom announced that it will completely stop gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany from August 31 to September 2 to carry out repair work on the only working turbine of the Portovaya compressor station. Currently, Nord Stream operates at only 20% capacity, which limits the flow of gas at the level of 33 million cubic metres a day.

Europe has to compete with major Asian LNG importers

The increase in European prices for TTF by more than 14 times compared to the average level over the past decade may lead to a reduction in industrial production in continental Europe and plunge the region into recession, traders and economists believe. Widespread concerns about gas shortages this winter have forced consumers to try to lock in supplies, which has led to higher prices even amid fears of a serious economic downturn.

Gas prices in Europe have also reacted to a sharp rise in prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia, where state-owned utilities are starting purchases ahead of winter. Europe has to compete with major Asian LNG importers such as China, Japan and South Korea.

Also speaking about the energy crisis in Europe, it is worth mentioning the situation in the United States — it is one of the world's largest LNG exporters. Since 2014, the United States has increased LNG volumes, becoming the world's third exporter of liquefied natural gas, and with the construction of the sixth liquefied natural gas plant in 2024, the United States can become the leader in LNG exports. Recently, gas prices at Henry Hub have been extremely unstable — in many ways the reason for this was the explosion of a pipe at one of the terminals for pumping gas to tankers, which led to the redistribution of capacity for domestic consumption and the collapse of local gas prices. However, due to the hot summer and increased demand for gas in the world, American gas prices have jumped to multi-year highs.

Least of all gas wars will affect Britain or France

It is also expected that the European government will continue to redistribute and reduce gas demand in order to primarily support the full functioning of households. Previously, it has already been decided to reduce gas consumption by 15% to save money, but it is possible to further reduce consumption. It is also worth understanding that to a greater extent the energy crisis concerns Germany and the countries of Central Europe, which do not have their own ports and storage facilities for LNG, and the bulk of energy resources came from Russia. Gas wars affect Western Europe much less, like Britain or France, where there are terminals and their own energy resources (even functioning nuclear power plants).

Thus, it can be assumed that gas prices will continue to gradually increase, but at the moment there is probably only one scenario for a sharp jump in prices by 5-15%, as it was recently," the final stop of gas pumping to Europe. In general, it can be expected that prices for natural gas at the Dutch TTF will remain close to a new record high of $3,000 per thousand cubic metres (or approximately 250-280 euro/MWh).