A photograph of a natural gas flare burning near an oil pump jack on the Recent Harmony Oil Field within the U.S. on June 19, 2022.
Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Germany’s economy minister accused the U.S. and other “friendly” gas supplier states of astronomical prices for his or her supplies, suggesting they were making the most of the fallout from the war in Ukraine.
“Some countries, including friendly ones, sometimes achieve astronomical prices [for their gas]. After all, that brings with it problems that now we have to speak about,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck told regional German paper NOZ in an interview published Wednesday which was translated by NBC News. He called for more solidarity from the U.S. relating to assisting its energy-pressed allies in Europe.
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“The US contacted us when oil prices shot up, and the national oil reserves in Europe were tapped consequently. I feel such solidarity would even be good for curbing gas prices,” he said.
CNBC contacted the White House for a response to the comments and is awaiting a reply.
Habeck, co-leader of Germany’s Green Party, which is a component of Berlin’s coalition government led by center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the EU also needs to do more to handle the region’s gas crisis, with countries scrambling for alternative supplies which has pressured prices much more, that was led to by the war in Ukraine and deteriorating relations with Russia.
Moscow’s state-owned gas giant, Gazprom, has cut supplies to the bloc drastically over the previous few months, largely on account of international sanctions and a desire to punish Europe — the EU used to import around 45% of its gas supplies from Russia but is in search of to halt all imports — for supporting Kyiv.
Habeck said the EU “should pool its market power and orchestrate smart and synchronized purchasing behavior by the EU states in order that individual EU countries don’t outbid one another and drive up world market prices.”
European market power is “enormous,” it just must be used, he noted, in line with the German news outlet.
Europe is facing a tough winter with gas shortages predicted across the region. Countries like Germany have been largely depending on Russian gas supplies for a long time with massive energy infrastructure, comparable to the Nord Stream 1 and a couple of gas pipelines, designed to bring gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
While the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline was never even launched, with Germany refusing to certify the pipeline following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Nord Stream 1 has develop into a pawn in souring relations between Moscow and Brussels.
Over the summer, gas supplies via the pipeline stopped and began seemingly at Moscow’s whim, even though it invariably cited the necessity for maintenance and sanctions as a reason for halting supplies. But then supplies got here to a halt in September.
More recently, Russia and Europe’s energy ties have literally been damaged with the Nord Stream pipelines suffering leaks last month under suspicious circumstances.
Russia denied it had sabotaged the pipelines, with reported underwater explosions damaging the pipes in several places, sending natural gas spewing into the Baltic Sea. The damage prompted a world outcry with the EU vowing a “robust” response to attacks on its energy infrastructure.
