It’s barely been a week since Gazprom announced an extended halt of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline but the doomsday predictions have already started rolling in. Reportedly, German energy giant Uniper and its CEO have warned that the worst is yet to come for the continent of Europe.
“I have said this a number of times now over this year and I’m also educating policymakers. Look, the worst is still to come,” said Klaus-Dieter Maubach, Uniper CEO.
Adding that the wholesale prices had shot exponentially, Maubach called for an open discussion amongst the stakeholders.
“What we see on the wholesale market is 20 times the price that we have seen two years ago. 20 times. That is why I think we need to have really an open discussion with everyone taking responsibility on how to fix that,”
It is pertinent to note that Uniper, Germany’s biggest importer of gas has been hit hard by the reduction in gas supplies from Russia. The company was in such dire straits that the German government in July had to bail out the company with a $15.24 billion bailout package.
Read more: Ready to meet Russia’s payment demand on gas, says Germany’s energy firm Uniper
As reported by WION, Russia-state-owned gas giant Gazprom had suspended gas supplies through Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline for a period of three days, starting August 31.
However, after the G7 group of nations reached a consensus on price capping, Kremlin quickly announced that new leaks had been discovered in the pipeline, leading to an indefinite halt.
Earlier today, Gazprom stated that the resumption of the pipeline depended on Seimens, the German company.
When asked when the pipeline would resume pumping gas again, Gazprom’s Deputy Chief Executive Vitaly Markelov on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in the far-east city of Vladivostok stated, “You should ask Siemens. They have to repair equipment first.”
Read more: ‘You should ask Siemens’, Gazprom on the resumption of Nord Stream 1 pipeline
(With inputs from agencies)
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