France Starts Gas Deliveries To Germany Amid Energy Crisis
On Thursday, the French natural gas grid operator GRTgaz announced that the country started direct gas deliveries to Germany, making good on an energy cooperation agreement struck in September to offset Russian supply cuts.
Facts
- On Thursday, the French natural gas grid operator GRTgaz announced that the country started direct gas deliveries to Germany, making good on an energy cooperation agreement struck in September to offset Russian supply cuts.
- This wraps up efforts over the past months to allow pipeline networks to flow eastbound, reverting their original direction as France has been less reliant on Russian energy than Germany.
- This move comes as European countries seek to diversify energy sources and ensure supply security in preparation for winter after Russia interrupted the supplies of cheap natural gas that they've relied on for years.
- While it has been operating at an initial capacity of 31 gigawatt-hours a day, GRTgaz has stated that this volume could be increased up to 100GWh a day once logistical constraints are solved, representing around a 10th of France's liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.
- In return for the new flows, which at maximum capacity represent up to 2% of Germany's daily demand, Berlin has agreed to supply France with additional electricity if needed.
- France imports gas mainly from Norway and the Netherlands. However, more recently, it has also relied on Qatar, Algeria, and several LNG terminals. The country also faces an energy crisis as half of its nuclear power plants were taken offline for inspections and repairs.
Sources: Le Monde, DW, Independent, Bloomberg, Reuters, and New York Times.
Narratives
- Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Time. Though some have deemed Putin a great strategist, his latest moves reveal a wild gambler prone to mistakes. Yes, weaponizing natural gas will inflict some damage to the West in the short term, punishing it for supporting Ukraine. But this move will be much more detrimental to Russia's long-term position as Europe has sought alternative energy suppliers and cut its dependence on Russian energy.
- Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. The Western arrogance and pride that contributed to the emergence of the conflict in Ukraine are also behind the ongoing European energy crisis. Moscow's decision to cut off gas supplies comes as a major diplomatic failure to Europe, which has been waging an economic war against the entire Russian population while offering no path to negotiations.
