Well, now it is already official: as Alexei Finikov, Deputy Head of the Gazprom Department, said during a closed telephone conference with investors, the construction of the Russian-European Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is technically complete.
The project is generally ready to launch.
Only a purely bureaucratic design, the so-called certification problem, hinders.
But this is no longer a problem for Gazprom and not even for the operator of the new gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2 AG.
And exclusively, as they say, the host side.
Although with the certification process, everything is also, in general, understandable.
Now let's try to explain.
It is known that, according to the existing procedure, the Federal Network Agency of Germany must publish a draft decision on the certification of the structure by January 8 of the next year, 2022, after which the Brussels bureaucracy will have another two months to come to a conclusion.
And, again, taking into account all possible European bureaucratic procedures and other "prolongations" to which Brussels, unfortunately, has full legal right, certification of the gas pipeline that Europe needs here and now, before a long and cold, apparently, winter , can be "prolonged" until the onset of the next warm season, namely spring 2022.
And this despite the fact that Europe needs Russian gas very, very much.
Let's repeat: here and now.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov, a person who, excuse me, is already slightly, sorry, in global politics, as they say, who has lived and is therefore professionally cynical and not too prone to excessive sentimentality and exaggerated expectations, in fact, it is not at all accidental and not for the sake of official words reported that Moscow expects the release of the EU decision by the New Year.
Well, no, no ...
And we, together with Sergei Viktorovich, can only be surprised: such, it turns out, are truly amazing (in the current seemingly strict and pragmatic times) and bizarre decisions are formed in a series of seemingly strictly bureaucratic events in the licensing sphere. When ideological and bureaucratic processes are so divorced from the practical result - for sure, excuse me, according to the scenario of a strict grandmother and tender adolescent ears frostbitten in spite of her. Moreover, like Putin's tale about the "freezing wolf's tail" (the British, who were entering Brexit at that time, lobbied not only in Putin's opinion, the exchange flywheel of spot prices for blue fuel, which is fatal for continental Europe), frostbitten European ears look in this particular the case, too, somehow too much, to chills naturalistic. But here,let us repeat, already - if we look at the launch of the gas pipeline exactly as an operational one, the current situation is a bit out of our question.
Below we will try to explain why.
It's just that in the medium term, Nord Stream 2 (no one doubts this, even its ideological opponents) will in any case be certified and launched.
And the current state of affairs in the European markets, which is quite favorable for the Russian gas giant, does not at all force Gazprom, as they say, to drive horses uncontrollably.
It burns, excuse me for some vulgarity, not at the supplier, but quite the opposite - at the consumer.
Here, in general, you don't even need to invent anything, everything is clear and so.
However, Gazprom is not at all going to let the situation take its course. Judge for yourself. As evidenced by the data of Gas Infrastructure Europe, the Russian gas concern over the past few days has again slowly, after some even a "sampling period" (for ourselves, we note: almost demonstrative) began to pump gas into its European UGS facilities. And in addition, let us pay attention (for in this situation it is especially important to emphasize not only the economic, but also the political nature of the decision) that this happened just after the Russian leader Vladimir Putin directly instructed Gazprom immediately after the completion of gas injection to underground storage facilities in the Russian Federation to start increasing gas supplies to the company's storage facilities in Europe. And the head of "Gazprom" Alexey Miller, in turn, assured the president that the domestic gas holding, of course,ready to carry out this order.
Which, of course, was to be expected: and the point here is not only impeccable, let's hope, discipline and diligence that reigns in the Russian gas holding.
It’s just that it’s easier to start implementing any order from your superiors, the more you yourself, absolutely not hiding it, you wish: the truth in this, even if not the best of the worlds, is still, as you know, easy and pleasant to speak.
And the traditional European markets, their present and future, whatever the situation may be, are still important and necessary for the Russian gas giant.
Whoever says anything else here.
And in general, "Gazprom" is simply in fact on the domestic markets, which were designated by the same Putin this year as priorities (let us recall at least the program of gasification of private properties), everything that is needed and what was required of it by the management, for the current period of time already done.
The volume of blue fuel in Russian UGS facilities reached 72.6 billion cubic meters, according to the company, at the end of last month (to be exact, on October 29), which did not prevent Gazprom from continuing to fill them.
And this volume, despite the fact that the company has already brought the maximum daily storage capacity to 847.9 million cubic meters.
m, is enough for the winter season of almost any difficulty.
You can start solving external problems.
And Gazprom, as we have already said, in Europe, of course, also has them.
And with these tasks, there is no longer the slightest doubt about this, the Russian gas supplier will cope with even the most unfit scenario from the point of view of the European consumer: if the European bureaucracy really manages to freeze the fully operational Nord Stream 2 until spring.
There is not even the slightest doubt that Gazprom will fulfill its contractual obligations in this case as well.
It will not lose its markets.
And taking into account the current filling of the UGS facility, it is possible that it will also earn extra money on short sales - well, here's how the cards will fall and how the air temperatures outside the window will fluctuate.
As for the additional "long volumes", everything is in the hands of certifiers from Brussels and the German Federal Network Agency.
For this is exactly what is directly related to the start of commercial operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline: hardly anyone now, being of sound mind and firm memory, will conclude "long deals" for pumping through the Ukrainian GTS.
Moreover, what is on the part of the seller, what is on the part of the consumer.
It’s just a street, excuse me, not even with a two-way traffic - here every person, as the Soviet classic used to say, is himself a blacksmith of his own happiness.
And from ourselves we will add: the owner of their money.
And in order to understand this, it is by no means necessary to be seven inches in the forehead.
It is enough simply to see that after Putin's instructions to increase supplies, the price of gas in Europe, of course, began to decline, and UGS facilities began to fill up little by little.
However, quotes still remain high, and winter has not even begun yet.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.