Gas prices have soared on concerns over energy supplies after Russia announced it would not reopen its main gas pipeline to Europe.The Dutch month ahead wholesale gas price, a benchmark for Europe, was up as much as 30% in early trading on Monday.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline had been due to reopen on Saturday after being shut for three days.
But Russia’s state-owned energy firm Gazprom said it had found a leak.
Europe has accused Russia of using gas supplies to blackmail European countries because of the Ukraine conflict, which Moscow denies.
A Kremlin spokesman said on Monday: “Pumping problems arose because of sanctions imposed against our country and against a number of companies by Western states, including Germany and the UK.”There are no other reasons that would lead to problems with pumping,”
Wholesale prices have been very volatile in recent weeks. They fell sharply last week when Germany announced that its gas storage facilities were filling up faster than expected.
Although the UK is not reliant on Nord Stream 1 for its gas, the Kremlin’s decision to squeeze supplies to Europe has driven up the overall cost of wholesale gas. Prices in the UK rose as much as 35% on Monday.
Credit: bbc.com
