The price of natural gas on the European market continues to rise: if in August “blue fuel” cost about $530, today it is already more than $800 per 1000 cubic meters.
Experts cite the situation around the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as one of the reasons for the rise in gas prices, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Thus, Artem Tuzov, executive director of the department of the Univer Capital company, draws attention to the fact that gas prices reached new highs after it became clear that the certification already completed gas pipeline will take up to four months.
“Accelerated certification of the gas pipeline will cool gas prices in Europe. But European bureaucracy is usually not known for its speed. Rather, we can expect delays in certification deadlines, which is what traders are factoring into the current prices for spot gas in Europe,” the expert told Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
However, he does not rule out that in the face of further rising prices and problems with filling storage facilities, European officials will make decisions faster in order to prevent an energy collapse in Europe.
True, the director of analysis at Alfa Capital, Maxim Bragin, believes that this is unlikely to happen.
“Due to the high significance of political factors associated with SP-2, a strong acceleration of the process can hardly be expected. Especially if the current surge in prices leads to an increase in supplies of liquefied gas to Europe, for example, from the USA,” says Bragin.
It should be noted that liquefied gas producers prefer to sell it in Asian markets, where the price is higher.