Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe will increase by 40% to 11.5 billion cubic meters in 2022, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
“In 2022, our export will reach 22 billion cubic meters, of which 11.5 billion cubic meters will be supplied to consumers in Europe. In 2021, 8.2 billion cubic meters was supplied to Europe. This means a 40% increase in the supplies in 2022,” Aliyev said at the ceremony for putting into commercial operation the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) in Sofia on Saturday.
In accordance with the agreements with the European Union, Azerbaijan plans to at least double its gas export to Europe by 2027.
For that purpose, Baku has begun consultations with its partners on the issue of expansion of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) to 32 billion cubic meters of gas a year and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to 20 billion cubic meters of gas a year, Aliyev said.
“We have already begun consultations with our partners on the expansion of the TANAP from 16 billion cubic meters to 32 billion cubic meters and the TAP from 10 billion cubic meters to 20 billion cubic meters. Because without it it will be difficult to ensure additional supplies,” the president said.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan has the capabilities to increase the gas export volumes by starting extraction at some other gas deposits.
As of the end of August 2022, Ukraine has accumulated 13 billion cubic meters of gas in its underground storage facilities (UGS). m of natural gas, said the head of the GTS Operator of Ukraine Serhiy Makogon in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“Now there are 13 billion cubic meters of gas in underground storage facilities. By October 15, according to forecast calculations, there will be about 14.4 billion cubic meters of gas. With such reserves, it is realistic to get through a mild winter, since today gas consumption has significantly decreased,” he said.
At the same time, the head of the operator noted, the military threat factor increases the risks of a stable heating season, so additional imports would be appropriate.
“As a GTS operator, we can assure that the transport routes for receiving gas from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary are ready to import in the amount of 54 million cubic meters per day. We hope that colleagues from Naftogaz will be able to take advantage of these opportunities to purchase gas,” Makogon said. .
As reported, as of the end of July, gas reserves in Ukraine’s UGS facilities reached 12 billion cubic meters. m.
Moldovan state company Energocom will buy 10 million cubic meters of natural gas for $16.6 million from Moldovagaz, which gets gas from Russia’s Gazprom, Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Andrei Spinu said on his Telegram channel, citing a decision made by the country’s National Commission for Emergency Situations.
“This transaction will also enable Moldovagaz to pay the advance for August by September 1,” Spinu said.
It was reported earlier that the the National Commission for Emergency Situations, which is chaired by Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita, had ordered state company Energocom to buy 10 mcm of natural gas for storage in Romania.
The gas will be purchased and delivered under a framework EFET (European Federation of Energy Traders) type purchase-sale contract between Energocom and Moldovagaz, the government’s press service told Interfax.
For the first tranche of 5 mcm, the purchase price will be about $1,459 per 1,000 cubic meters. The second tranche of the gas purchase will be made in September at a price of $1,881 per 1,000 cubic meters.
The gas will be stored in neighboring Romania, as Moldova does not have its own gas storage facilities.
Moldovagaz was unable to pay an advance to Gazprom for supplies in August and the Russian company agreed to defer the payment to September 1. Moldovagaz said that current gas rates in the country do not cover its purchase price.
The commission also decided to allocate MDL 322 million from the state budget to increase Energocom’s charter capital.
The spot price of gas in Europe soared above $2,700/ths. cube m for the news about the new repair on the Nord Stream highway.
The price of the nearest (September) TTF futures on the ICE Futures exchange on Friday evening reached $2,712 per thousand cubic meters.
On Friday evening, Gazprom announced that the only working gas-compressor unit of the Nord Stream main’s departure compressor station at the Portovaya CS would be shut down from August 31 to September 2 for three days for maintenance and scheduled preventive work.
The gas pipeline is capable of transporting up to 167 million cubic meters per day. m of gas, but the capacity was reduced due to the violation of the maintenance schedule for the equipment of the starting station of the sea main – the compressor station “Portovaya”. It is equipped with gas compressor units from Rolls-Royce, whose gas turbine business has been taken over by Siemens. Due to Canadian sanctions imposed in response to the military aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, one turbine did not return to Russia from the Siemens Energy repair base on time. In the meantime, the time has come for a major overhaul of other engines, both in connection with the operating time between overhauls and in connection with breakdowns.
Ukraine plans to produce 18.5 billion cubic meters in 2022. meters of gas, which is 6.6% (1.3 billion cubic meters) less than in 2021, said Deputy Energy Minister Nikolai Kolesnik.
“Based on the volume of actual production that is today, the forecast volume for this year is approximately 18.5 billion cubic meters. This is without taking into account potential losses,” he said in Kyiv on Thursday.
Kolesnik specified that today the daily gas production in the country is 49.5 million cubic meters. m, while before the start of the war it was about 55 million cubic meters. m. At the same time, companies are not yet able to fully carry out new drilling and workover of wells, but only maintain the maintenance of the existing said fund. This is due to the use of equipment that from the air can look like a military one.
According to him, the gas consumption forecast for 2022 is about 21 billion cubic meters. The Deputy Minister clarified that this forecast is based on the consumption profile of previous years, while in the conditions of war and the resettlement of people it is difficult to say exactly what consumption will be.
As reported, natural gas production in Ukraine in 2021 amounted to 19.8 billion cubic meters. m, incl. private companies – 5 billion cubic meters. m.
German Vice-Chancellor, Minister for Economy and Climate Protection Robert Habeck called the situation with gas supplies in the country “serious” and called for a reduction in its consumption by 15-20%.
On the air of the ARD TV channel, referring to Gazprom’s announcement of a further reduction in fuel supplies from July 27, he said that “we must be prepared for this,” and “this is a serious situation.”
Habek noted that Germany will continue to receive gas from the Netherlands and Norway, “we will be able to continue to fill the storage, but how quickly and in what volumes,” it will be clear later. He added that “we will not have gas in abundance.”
The minister called for a 15-20% reduction in gas consumption to avoid that “certain production chains simply cease to exist in Germany or Europe.”
The official promised that in the event of a shortage of gas, industrial sectors would be the first to suffer, while measures would be taken to provide residential buildings and infrastructure such as hospitals.
In an interview with DPA, Habek said he sees no “technical reasons” for Gazprom’s cuts in supplies.
As previously reported by Gazprom, gas pumping through Nord Stream will be reduced to one-fifth of its capacity from Wednesday.
