The halt of Russian gas transit through Ukraine puts EU countries at risk – Le Monde reported

The cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine puts EU countries at risk.

This information reported according to the French newspaper Le Monde.

Today, Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy described the transit halt as a “historic event.”

Le Monde notes that the announcement of the transit cessation late last year caused a spike in gas prices, which were already under pressure due to a cold start to winter in Europe. The Dutch TTF futures contract, considered Europe’s benchmark for natural gas, reached and surpassed €50 per megawatt-hour ($512 per thousand cubic meters) just before January 1, the highest level since October 2023.

Beyond the energy costs, the closure of this pipeline has exposed difficulties within the EU in forming a unified energy policy. While the European Commission aims to eliminate imports of Russian fossil fuels by 2027, Slovakia recently advocated for the continued purchase of cheap Russian gas.

At the same time, the European Commission maintains that “Europe’s gas system has sufficient capacity to manage the end of the transit agreement with Ukraine.” A December memo prepared for EU member states highlights “recent developments in LNG import capacity” from the U.S. and Qatar.

While LNG can be received at port terminals, it is more expensive than Russian gas.

“Deliveries of LNG through terminals in Croatia, Italy, and Germany to Central and Eastern Europe are technically feasible,” said Georg Zachmann, an expert in energy and climate policy at the Bruegel Institute, “but shipping gas raises energy costs compared to conventional pipeline supplies.”

“Despite the war in Ukraine, Russia remains one of the primary gas suppliers to Europe,” the newspaper adds.

As of September 2024, Russia was the EU’s second-largest gas supplier, providing 38 billion cubic meters, accounting for 19% of the EU’s total gas imports. This is a significant decrease from 45% in 2021 but still a substantial share.

Norway ranks first among suppliers, followed by the U.S. in third. During the first nine months of 2024, about one-third of Russian gas shipments to Europe passed through Ukraine. A similar amount was delivered via the TurkStream pipeline, which passes through Turkey to supply gas to Hungary. The remaining third of Russian gas was delivered as liquefied natural gas (LNG), primarily to ports in Spain and France.

In France, TotalEnergies states that it remains bound by long-term contracts with Russia’s private company Novatek “in the absence of sanctions from European states.”

“Europe has imposed sanctions on Russian oil and coal but has failed to do the same for gas,” said Fouk-Vinh Nguyen, head of the Energy Center at the Jacques Delors Institute.

At the end of the year, Gazprom was supplying a reduced volume of gas to Europe through Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in Transnistria, heating and hot water have already been shut off due to Ukraine halting Russian gas transit.