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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Russia Europe Gas Warning
HEADLINE: Russia Could Cut Off Gas Supply to Europe, Warns IEA
TEASER: International Energy Agency warns Europe to take action now as Russia could halt supplies to gain ‘political leverage’
PUBLISHED AT: 6/23/2022 AT
BYLINE: Henry Ridgwell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: London
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Ridgwell
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: MAS,SV
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, APTN, Reuters, AFP, Teams
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT:
VID APPROVED BY:
TYPE: VPKGN
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) [[The International Energy Agency has warned that Russia could cut gas supplies to Europe entirely in order to boost its political leverage following its invasion of Ukraine. As Henry Ridgwell reports, Europe is scrambling to avoid an energy crisis this winter.]]
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF RUSSIAN GAS PIPELINES TO EUROPE))
((NARRATOR))
Russia has severely restricted gas flows to Europe in recent days. The Kremlin blames technical issues caused by sanctions. Europe accuses the Kremlin of playing geopolitics.
A full cut-off would plunge Europe into an energy crisis, says analyst Tom Marzec-Manser.
((Tom Marzec-Manser, Head of Gas Analytics at ICIS))
“Gas supplies from Russia at the moment - pipeline supplies that is - are literally a quarter of what they were a year ago. So the volumes are very, very low. And clearly that's causing concerns. It means rebuilding storages, storage stocks ahead of the upcoming winter is that much more difficult.”
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF EUROPEAN GAS STORAGE))
((NARRATOR))
Europe wants to fill its gas storage to 80 percent of capacity by November. Currently it’s around 55 percent. The soaring gas price since its invasion of Ukraine has benefitted Russia.
((Tom Marzec-Manser, Head of Gas Analytics at ICIS))
“A huge amount of money has been made in a short period of time, which is probably going to carry Gazprom through for the next few years at least, in terms of being able to really restrict flows but still have money in the bank.”
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF GAS CONSUMPTION))
((NARRATOR))
Germany gets around a third of its gas from Russia. The government declared Thursday it had entered the phase 2 ‘alarm stage’ of its emergency gas plan – calling on Germans to reduce their gas consumption.
((Robert Habeck, German Economy Minister (in German) ))
“Gas is from now on in short supply in Germany.”
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF GAS CONSUMPTION))
((NARRATOR))
Consumers must play their part, says analyst Claudia Kemfert.
((Claudia Kemfert, Energy Analyst (in German) ))
“It was expected that this situation would come sooner or later. But what is important now is that we do everything we can to save gas.”
((VIDEO: VOA FOOTAGE OF EUROPEAN INDUSTRY))
((NARRATOR))
That also includes industry – raising fears that an energy crunch could plunge Europe into recession.
((Tom Marzec-Manser, Head of Gas Analytics at ICIS))
“The industrial demand sector, the power sector, is really going to have to play a key role in conserving gas. We've seen proposals from many governments around Europe to permit continued use of coal.”
((VIDEO: VOA FOOTAGE OF COAL MINE IN GERMANY))
((NARRATOR))
That reverses Europe’s pledge to phase out coal and other fossil fuels.
((Claudia Kemfert, Energy Analyst (in German) ))
“We need a much faster expansion of renewable energies.”
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF AMERICAN LNG))
((NARRATOR))
European leaders have been scrambling to find alternatives to Russian gas. U.S. liquefied natural gas or LNG imports have risen sharply.
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF E.U. SIGNING DEAL))
The EU this month signed a deal to boost Liquefied Natural Gas supplied from Israel and Egypt.
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF RUSSIAN GAS PIPELINES TO EUROPE))
But analysts say Europe will struggle to replace Russian gas before the winter – and a cold season would exacerbate the crisis.
((Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, London.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJune 23, 2022 11:51 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
