German industry is heavily dependent on Russian gas
Russia has imposed sanctions against several European companies, through which «Gazprom» supplied gas to the European Union, and thereby raised the stakes in the energy war with Europe, which escalated after the invasion of Ukraine. Germany took the first blow of counter-sanctions — the largest industrial power and the main consumer of Russian energy resources in the EU.
She easily dealt with it, but German officials have suspicions that the goal was not tactical, but strategic, and the Kremlin planted a time bomb for the European Union, which is 40% dependent on Russian gas.
The energy war has begun long before the invasion: Gazprom cut gas supplies to the EU in the autumn, and prices soared to unprecedented heights. And as soon as bombs fell on Ukrainian cities, the EU abandoned Russian coal, was going to reduce gas purchases from Russia by two-thirds by the end of the year, and almost agreed on an embargo on Russian oil.
In response, President Vladimir Putin demanded that Europeans pay for gas to an account in the Russian «Gazprombank» with the subsequent mandatory conversion of euros into rubles, and gas was turned off for refuseniks in Poland and Bulgaria. On Wednesday, Ukraine entered the energy war, restricting Russian transit to Europe through the occupied territories.
On the evening of the same day, the Russian government complied with Putin's decree of May 3 and published a list of companies against which counter-sanctions are being introduced. Gazprom Germania and EuRoPol GAZ were included in it.
«The decree contains very targeted and innovative measures. He allows the preservation of trade relations with Germany, but not on the same terms»,— summed up the first results of a new round of the energy war, the head of the German federal gas transmission network, Klaus Müller.
Two birds with one stone
Trading companies fell under counter-sanctions, but they did not affect gas transportation companies. They can be easily circumvented if the Germans buy Russian gas directly or through other traders. However, this involves renegotiating contracts.
Putin thus kills two birds with one stone. Firstly, through his efforts, prices in Europe are breaking records, so new deals will be more profitable than the previous ones. And secondly, in the new contracts it is possible to prescribe payment through «Gazprombank», which is preferable for Russia in the conditions of freezing the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank.
The company Gazprom Germania, which fell under Russian counter-sanctions, owned the European assets of «Gazprom», which included critical infrastructure in Germany and the EU (underground gas storage facilities, trading and gas pipelines). The German authorities introduced external management into it as soon as «Gazprom» tried to transfer all these assets to the company of the Moscow DJ.
EuRoPol GAZ — also under Russian sanctions — is the owner of the Polish section of the gas pipeline «Yamal-Europe» from Russia through Belarus and Poland to Germany. True, the gas pipeline with a capacity of 33 billion cubic meters per year (about a third of all Russian deliveries to the EU) has been operating in reverse mode for many weeks and is pumping far from Russian gas from Germany to Poland, which has been cut off by «Gazprom» back in April.
«Earlier, the Polish side repeatedly violated the rights of «Gazprom» as a shareholder of EuRoPol GAZ, and on April 26, 2022, contributed «Gazprom» to the sanctions list, blocking the company's ability to exercise rights on shares and other securities of EuRoPol GAZ and receive dividends & # 187;, & # 8212; said «Gazprom» on Thursday, commenting on the government's decision to impose sanctions against its joint venture with the Polish PGNiG.
The largest German underground storage facility «Gazprom» by 4 billion cubic meters and trader Wingas.
All this will deprive Germany of about 3% of daily imports, said Economics Minister Robert Habeck. These losses can be easily compensated for by other sources, albeit more expensive. In addition, Germany continues to receive Russian gas through the pipeline «Nord Stream» along the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
Escalation of the crisis is inevitable: Europe is preparing new sanctions against Russian oil — the main export commodity and the main source of income for the Kremlin. It is easier for the EU to refuse it than from gas.
And for Russia — on the contrary, therefore the gas attack on Europe — the most effective Russian weapon in the economic war with the EU. And counter-sanctions — confirmation that Putin is determined to use it.