Olena Zerkal, an adviser to Ukraine’s energy minister, made the remark during a discussion at Chatham House, a London-based think tank. Russia has been cutting gas flows to Europe in recent months, citing reasons such as energy companies’ refusal to pay in rubles and the shutdown of equipment in Canada. In 2021, Europe accounted for about 75% of Russia’s natural gas exports. Now, Europe is nervous Russia could completely cut off natural gas flows in retaliation for sweeping sanctions it has imposed over the war in Ukraine. Europe depends on Russia for 40% of its total gas needs, from cooking in homes to power stations, and most of that is delivered via pipelines. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said there would be “catastrophic consequences” for global energy markets if more sanctions were imposed on Russia. However, Ukraine’s Zerkal said Putin was holding out, as the gas supply cannot simply be turned on and off. “Their underground warehouses are full,” he said, according to a transcript of the panel discussion reviewed by Insider. “Yes, they can burn all that gas, but they can burn Siberia with all that gas. Otherwise, they’ll have to send that gas back to Europe.” Russian energy expert Margarita Balmaceda told “Marketplace Morning Report” in March that “someone like Putin loves the vision of closing the pipeline, shutting off the supply — but in reality, natural gas doesn’t really work that way.” “You can’t really stop producing gas that quickly. And if you don’t have somewhere to store gas that you’ve already produced, your only choice is to either let it flare up in the air or keep sending it,” said Balmaceda. on the radio show. It referred to controlled burning of the fuel that releases it into the atmosphere. Zerkal said Russia is “very limited in its ability to follow through on this bluff,” according to The National. Germany — Europe’s top economy — also knows it would be difficult for the Kremlin to simply turn off the gas taps. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the main natural gas pipeline carrying the fuel from Russia to Europe “is not like a water tap”, Agence France-Presse reported on Monday. Even so, Germany is nervous that Russia will not restart the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline after shutting it down on Monday for 10 days of scheduled maintenance. Berlin is already telling people to save energy. “Everything is possible, everything can happen,” German Economy Minister Robert Habeck told Deutschlandfunk radio on Saturday, as translated by the Guardian. “The gas may be flowing again, perhaps more than before. It may also be that nothing is coming.”
