Amos Hochstein, senior adviser to the State Department for energy security, said that due to small reserves and limited supplies from Russia this winter, Europe may be left without natural gas for heating homes.

"If the winter is colder than the average, then I fear that in some parts of Europe we will not have enough gas for heating," - he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

According to Hochstein, some countries will still be able to buy gas at a higher price, but others will be forced to impose a rate on its consumption.

He also noted that gas supplies from Russia to Europe are allegedly "inexplicably low when compared with previous years and what the other side could provide."

In addition, he stressed that Moscow is allegedly trying to use the energy crisis to strengthen its position on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

The adviser also said that the United States is committed to ensuring that "today's world" is supplied with sufficient fuel, for which, among other things, it urges allies such as Saudi Arabia to continue to supply oil at "affordable prices."

Earlier, 43 MPs, more than half of whom represent Poland and the Baltic countries, called on the European Commission (EC) in a letter dated September 16 to start an investigation into Gazprom.

According to one of the authors of the document, Lithuanian MP Andrius Kubilius, this company is the “hand of the Kremlin”, which is possibly manipulating the European gas market in order to raise prices for blue fuel.

Thus, according to Kubilius, Gazprom is putting pressure on Europe to “approve the commissioning” of Nord Stream 2.

He announced this on his Twitter, attaching the text of the letter.

Gazprom is the Kremlin's arm, which may be manipulating European gas market to push gas prices up, currently breaking all-time records.

Pressing Europe to approve NS2 operation despite it is in breach of EU rules?

MEPs call European Commission to lounch investigation on Gazprom!

pic.twitter.com/BXXTUhxhap

- Andrius Kubilius (@KubiliusA) September 17, 2021

The document was commented on in "Gazprom", stating that the gas supplies are carried out by the company "in full compliance with the current contractual obligations" and the applications of consumers.

This was reported to TASS in the information department of "Gazprom".

The European Commission also explained the situation on the European gas market, noting that the structure is aware of a significant increase in gas prices, which, as they noted, was to be expected.

Moreover, the European Commission stressed that this is the result of a combination of factors.

But to a large extent, the increase in gas prices was caused by strong growth in global demand for natural gas as a result of the economic recovery after the pandemic, the EC said.

Energy crisis in Europe

As a reminder, on September 15, the gas price in European countries broke a historical record, for the first time exceeding $ 960 per 1,000 cubic meters.

m. Prior to that, the price of blue fuel had been growing for the last six months and, as a result, increased almost fivefold.

Gas began to rise in price most quickly in September - since the beginning of the month, the cost of energy raw materials has added 57%.

On the same day, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that "these processes have nothing to do with Russia."

“Moreover, these spot gas prices also do not affect the prices of pipeline gas,” he said, stressing that “undoubtedly, the soonest commissioning of Nord Stream 2 will significantly balance the price parameters for natural gas in Europe, including including in the spot market ”.

At the same time, gas reserves in European underground storage facilities (UGS), as of September 13, remain at their lowest level for many years, Gazprom reported citing data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.

  • Gazprom symbols

  • © REUTERS / Evgenia Novozhenina

“The backlog in terms of occupancy compared to last year is 22.8 billion cubic meters.

m of gas.

Only 62% of the volume of gas raised from UGS facilities in Europe in the last heating season has been replenished, ”the company said in a statement posted on its official Telegram channel.

Gazprom also stressed that the annual target for gas exports to the European market “has not been changed and amounts to 183 billion cubic meters.

m ".

At the same time, the company announced on September 15 that it had increased its exports to non-CIS countries to 131.3 billion cubic meters.

m from January to August.

Gazprom continues to supply gas at a level close to its historic record (133.3 billion cubic meters in the same period in 2018).

Growth, compared to the same indicator in 2020, is by 19.4%, or 21.3 billion cubic meters.

m ", - noted in" Gazprom ".

The company clarified that it increased gas supplies to Turkey (by 173.6%), Germany (by 39.3%), Italy (by 15%), Romania (by 344%), Serbia (by 123.9%), Poland (by 12%), Bulgaria (by 50.9%), Greece (by 15.8%) and Finland (by 22.7%).

As stated by "Gazprom", in the first half of August, it supplied to Germany and Poland "significantly more gas than in the same period of 2020 and 2019."

“Analyzing the volume of supplies in August to the domestic market and to non-CIS countries, we note that recently gas consumption this month has reached a new peak,” the company said.

They also explained that the "green winter" in August on the gas market "means an increased load on the gas supply system during the traditional season of scheduled preventive maintenance and preparation for the autumn-winter period, which cannot be paused."

“The practice of the last few years both in Russia and in Europe suggests that the winter period has passed to the calendar spring month of March.

Therefore, now, in the summer, the priority is to pump gas into underground storage facilities, since the volume of available resources by March, by the end of the UGS withdrawal season, must be at a high level for confident passage of this difficult period.

And our European colleagues are also very well aware of this, ”Gazprom said.

"Shoot yourself in the foot"

According to Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, member of the Public Chamber of Russia, all accusations from the United States and European deputies, mainly from the Baltic countries and Poland, against Russia and Gazprom do not stand up to criticism and are unfounded.

"Washington has now once again made an attempt to make Moscow guilty of Europe's shortage of gas, although it is absolutely obvious that Gazprom has significantly increased supplies to a number of European countries," the expert said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, Washington contradicts itself, Danyuk said.

  • The White house

  • © AP Photo / Andrew Harnik

“Previously, the American side stated that Russia was influencing political processes in Europe by supplying gas there, and now it accuses Russia of allegedly supplying European countries with limited quantities of blue fuel.

Messages of this kind indicate the following: no matter what Russia does in the energy sector, it will still remain to blame for the United States and a number of other Western countries, ”the analyst noted.

As the deputy director general of the Institute of National Energy Alexander Frolov said in a commentary to RT, groundlessly accusing Russia of using the European energy crisis to promote Nord Stream 2, Washington also forgets to say that it itself has largely negatively influenced the situation around the gas market in Europe.

“Who promised the EU an abundance of liquefied natural gas, isn't it the USA by chance?

Was it not Washington that called on the European Union to abandon Russian gas boldly and without looking back at any consequences?

It turns out that the United States simply deceived its allies by promising them some supplies, because now the United States sends its LNG mainly to Asia, since they pay more there.

Did Gazprom prevent Washington from solving the problem of fuel shortages in Europe? "

- said the analyst.

At the same time, Gazprom is now supplying gas volumes close to record levels to the far abroad, and is also increasing supplies to a number of European countries, Frolov said.

“There is not a single supplier in the world that could supply such volumes of gas to foreign markets.

Moreover, the volume of blue fuel transported to Europe is extremely large.

Gazprom is clearly fulfilling its obligations 100% to European countries.

The company also has obligations to the domestic market.

First of all, Gazprom is obliged to fill storage facilities in Russia, ”the expert noted.

The question arises why other suppliers besides Gazprom, such as the United States, Norway, Algeria and Qatar, do not meet the increased demand for gas in Europe, Frolov said.

Gazprom occupies only a part of the European gas market, where are the rest of the suppliers? "

- says the analyst.

Danyuk stressed that if the United States and some EU countries, in particular Poland and the Baltic states, did not put a spoke in the wheels of the Nord Stream 2 project, the energy crisis in Europe could have been avoided.

“Exporting gas to the European Union through the new gas pipeline could more than meet the needs of European countries.

The EU is shooting itself in the foot trying to slow down the Nord Stream 2 certification process.

But it is always easier to blame Russia for the problems that have arisen, to declare that it is her fault that the EU countries are now having difficulties.

This is a deliberate policy of demonizing Moscow, which is adhered to by the United States and a number of EU countries wishing to present the Russian Federation as an unacceptable partner.

Although Russia in the entire history of energy relations with Europe has never renounced its obligations and has always fulfilled them, ”the expert concluded.