It seems incredible, less than two months ago Europe was launching a good recovery from the recessive economic mortgage due to the 2020-21 pandemic and the outlook seems full of optimism. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine I destroy everything.
Now the reality is a brutal clash even with nuclear threats and a war to rescue the 27 countries of the European Union from the holders of energy dependence forcing them to pay a billion euros every day in Moscow to pay for gas supplies. And to this figure we need to add Russia’s oil imports.
Russia suddenly changed the world, ending a long period of globalization that at best lasted more than thirty years.
“First the pandemic and then the war of aggression in Ukraine with its sanctions, disrupted the incredible period of expansion in the exchange of goods, capital and people between different parts of the world that started after World War II, “he wrote in The Republic of Rome Francesco Guerrera.
The energy war was an unexpected variant of Russia’s aggression became a nightmare for Europewhich along with the United States launched a wave of sanctions aimed at paralyzing the Kremlin’s economy.
Ukrainian soldiers in Bucha, after the departure of Russia. Photo by Reuters
the horror of war
The EU will soon announce a fifth wave of sanctions to weaken the dreaded President Vladimir Putin. But the appearance of hundreds of corpses in the streets and mass graves around kyiv after the retreat in the East of the invading armies besieging the Ukrainian capital, has dramatically brought the energy issue to the fore.
A moral imperative showed that the deadlines had expired. Germany, Italy and the other European countries that impose sanctions on Russia on the one hand and are expanding huge financing that facilitates Putin’s war effort on the other, cannot maintain this ambiguity.
after Germany, Italy is the main payer of the daily mountain of one billion euros per day that President Putin uses to continue the war. Italy has guilty of refusing to produce its own methane, which now barely reaches 5% of needs.
In Russia buys 30 billion cubic meters per year. If Putin closes the taps of gas pipelines reaching the peninsula, Italy faces the problem of how to replace them in the short term.
35% of the gas consumed by Italians comes from Russia, 30% from Algeria, 10% from Azerbaijan, 5% from Northern Europe and 5% from Libya. It is necessary to add 11% of LNG, the liquid gas that travels on the ship and needs to return to the gaseous state in the regasifiers. Italy has three, Spain six and Germany not one.
The Italians launched to find a replacement. As good weather and heat approach, it is estimated that until October the situation in the reserves may be faced. If necessary, the ration will be levied.
Fortunately for Italians there is ENIthe great hydrocarbon company created by Enrico Mattei, killed by gangsters connected to the very strong oil interest that Mattei put in trouble with his large operations in the 50s and 60s alarmed the famous Seven Sisters, the large companies of oil, which does not forgive.
necessary tasks
Eni was quickly put into operations and has already secured an agreement with Algeria to achieve a reinforcement of 9 billion cubic meters of gas. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio traveled to Azerbaijan and secured reinforcement of 2 billion in the gas pipeline that already supplies Italy.
But reinforcements to supplies through existing conduits required to perform basic tasks on the long ocean voyage, which takes time.
The United States has become the world’s leading producer of LNG, liquid gas, and although Washington is already acting to help European energy autonomy in an anti-Putin role, infrastructure investments are also needed.
Italy ordered the purchase of a fourth regasifier and the lease of a fifth.
The course of the war in Ukraine, with its horrors and the peace negotiations, times of turmoil will also be marked to find Russian gas exchange supplies.
France, which has the advantage in its wall of 56 nuclear reactors that produce electricity, has the problem that 27 reactors are under maintenance, forcing it to buy electricity from neighboring countries.
The government has invited citizens and businesses to moderate consumption especially in these cold weeks with ice waves affecting France. He also asked to use household items, especially on the weekends.
In the Netherlands, the government faces 12% inflation that is poisoning the economy. Hence the invitation to citizens to consume less energy, reduce rainfall as short as possible not to heat houses to more than 19 degrees.
Spain and Portugal have more independent energy markets than other European countries. They got from the EU the possibility to put a price ceiling of 30 euros per megawatt, when in the free market it trades at 110 euros.
Germany, doubly tied to Russia as the first European importer of gas and oil, declared the first level of alarm before being forced to ration while taking alternative supplies to the Russians. The Germans were furious with Putin. Prime Minister Olaf Scholz has already said that Russia is not a reliable partner.
PB
Source: Clarin
