Nord Stream

A planned underwater energy pipeline linking Barcelona in Spain and Marseille in France could take up to seven years to build, Spain's energy minister has said.    

The Polish operator of an oil pipeline says there are "no signs of any third-party interference" related to a leak in a pipeline that is the main source of crude oil from Russia to Germany.

PERN, the operator, said in a statement late Wednesday that its technical services had located the site of the spill after removing most of the contamination from the area.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 12 that Russia could increase the capacity of its gas exports to Turkey and eventually turn into a hub for gas supplies to Europe.

Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to Europe via a link of the Germany-bound Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

Sweden will not share with Russia the results of an investigation into the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, even though the majority owner is a Russian company.
As a reminder, the Russian company Gazpromneft owns 51 percent of the gas pipeline, and the rest is made up of German, French and Dutch companies.

Gas supplies from Russia to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline will not be fully resumed until the "collective West" lifts the sanctions imposed on Moscow after the start of the invasion of Ukraine. This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the "Financial Times".

Natural gas in Europe rose almost 30% in morning trading, the first day since Russia announced it would indefinitely suspend one of its main pipelines to the EU, Nord Stream 1.

Financial markets have been rattled by the shutdown of Russia's Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, as energy pressure on European economies intensifies as winter approaches. The euro fell to a two-year low this morning in early trading on Monday after Russian energy company Gazprom extended the shutdown of its gas pipeline to Germany on Friday night.

The Kremlin said on Monday the halt of gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline was caused by Western sanctions that prevent the maintenance of its infrastructure.

Germany's gas storage facilities are already 85 percent full, meeting Berlin's October target levels, despite the prolonged shutdown of Russian Nord Stream 1 supplies.

This is according to data published yesterday by the European group of operators "Gas Infrastructure Europe", cited by Reuters and BTA.

EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni has said that the European Union was "well prepared" in the event of a total halt in Russian gas deliveries, thanks to storage capacity and energy-saving measures.