Expert sees no significant losses for Europe, Russia from suspension of gas transit through Belarus
<p> MINSK, Dec 13 - PrimePress. Europe and Russia will not incur huge losses from having gas transit through Belarus halted if the Belarusian authorities block the gas pipeline Yamal - Europe in response to external sanctions, reckons Sergey Pikin, director of the Energy Development Fund (Russia). </p> <p> </p> <p> Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with the Turkish TRT broadcaster on Dec 9 that Minsk would be ready to cut off gas transit to Europe if the Belarusian government finds no other way to respond to western sanctions with other steps. In Nov 2021, Lukashenko threatened to cut off gas transit to Europe via the transnational gas pipeline Yamal-Europe, if Poland completely closed its border amid the migrant crisis. </p> <p> </p> <p> Pikin noted that even if this threat were to materialise, Europe and Russia would not suffer global losses, as transit through Belarus is not a major export route. </p> <p> </p> <p> “The main one is Nord Stream, then comes the Ukrainian one, then Turkey, while Belarus and Poland only come in the fourth place. And the volume of the pipeline is now at about 30% of the capacity, so the pipeline is not loaded either. Therefore, in the event Lukashenko cuts something off, Europe will certainly get a little scared, but it will not cause much damage. Besides, the Belarus President's statements are less and less spoken about. Moreover, such threats of his have almost no effect on the market,” the expert said in a commentary to lenta.ru. </p> <p> </p> <p> He also recalled that Lukashenko had threatened to block the pipeline belonging to Gazprom, so he would in any case have to consider the position of Moscow, which is unlikely to approve such a decision. </p> <p> </p> <p> The Yamal-Europe gas export pipeline, which runs through Belarus, was commissioned in 1999. The pipeline supplies transit gas to Russia’s Kaliningrad region, Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland and on to Germany. Its design capacity is 32.9bn cubic metres per year. The Belarusian section of the Yamal-Europe pipeline is 575 km long. This section has always belonged to Gazprom. </p> <p> </p> <p> In addition, between 2007 and 2011, Gazprom bought the Belarusian gas transmission system for $5 billion, which is now operated by Gazprom’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Gazprom Transgaz Belarus. Gazprom Transgaz Belarus also supplies gas to consumers in Belarus. </p> <p> </p> <p> As a result, the two pipelines located in Belarus - Yamal-Europe and the former domestic gas transmission system - are now fully owned by Russia. End </p>
2021-12-14
Primepress
Expert sees no significant losses for Europe, Russia from suspension of gas transit through Belarus
MINSK, Dec 13 - PrimePress. Europe and Russia will not incur huge losses from having gas transit through Belarus halted if the Belarusian authorities block the gas pipeline Yamal - Europe in response to external sanctions, reckons Sergey Pikin, director of the Energy Development Fund (Russia).
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with the Turkish TRT broadcaster on Dec 9 that Minsk would be ready to cut off gas transit to Europe if the Belarusian government finds no other way to respond to western sanctions with other steps. In Nov 2021, Lukashenko threatened to cut off gas transit to Europe via the transnational gas pipeline Yamal-Europe, if Poland completely closed its border amid the migrant crisis.
Pikin noted that even if this threat were to materialise, Europe and Russia would not suffer global losses, as transit through Belarus is not a major export route.
“The main one is Nord Stream, then comes the Ukrainian one, then Turkey, while Belarus and Poland only come in the fourth place. And the volume of the pipeline is now at about 30% of the capacity, so the pipeline is not loaded either. Therefore, in the event Lukashenko cuts something off, Europe will certainly get a little scared, but it will not cause much damage. Besides, the Belarus President's statements are less and less spoken about. Moreover, such threats of his have almost no effect on the market,” the expert said in a commentary to lenta.ru.
He also recalled that Lukashenko had threatened to block the pipeline belonging to Gazprom, so he would in any case have to consider the position of Moscow, which is unlikely to approve such a decision.
The Yamal-Europe gas export pipeline, which runs through Belarus, was commissioned in 1999. The pipeline supplies transit gas to Russia’s Kaliningrad region, Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland and on to Germany. Its design capacity is 32.9bn cubic metres per year. The Belarusian section of the Yamal-Europe pipeline is 575 km long. This section has always belonged to Gazprom.
In addition, between 2007 and 2011, Gazprom bought the Belarusian gas transmission system for $5 billion, which is now operated by Gazprom’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Gazprom Transgaz Belarus. Gazprom Transgaz Belarus also supplies gas to consumers in Belarus.
As a result, the two pipelines located in Belarus - Yamal-Europe and the former domestic gas transmission system - are now fully owned by Russia. End