Russia-Poland Gas Stoppage Largely Over
Gazprom and Poland's gas grid have both said that a two-day gas quality problem that halted exports via the Yamal pipeline has been resolved.
Poland's Gaz-System said gas flows had resumed into Poland at the pumping station on the Yamal pipeline on its border with Belarus at 6am local time June 23 after an "improvement of natural gas quality parameters".
Ontras, a gas transmission system operator (TSO) operating in eastern Germany, told NGW on June 22 that the gas quality problem was one of "too high water content" which breached German (and presumably also Polish) statutory gas quality norms.
Gazprom deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev told Bloomberg news agency in Prague June 22 that the problem with the quality of Russian gas supplied through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline to Poland and Germany had been resolved: “It was a one-time situation and it has already been corrected." But he criticised the reaction on the Polish side to stop all imports on June 21-22 via the Yamal pipe as “an attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill.”
German TSO still partially restricting entry flows
Gascade, another German independent TSO that manages the entry point for Yamal pipeline into Germany from Poland, however was still partially restricting entry flows as of the morning of June 23. In Remit regulatory notices to gas shippers, it said at 9.59am local time (June 23, so 7.59am GMT) that "the gas quality is not fully in line with the specification; gas treatment facilities are in operation; capacities at Mallnow entry will be restricted." An earlier regulatory Remit notice issued by Gascade on June 22 evening said that Yamal entry flows to Germany at Mallnow would be restricted to 10mn kWh gas/hour [equivalent to 22.3mn m³/day, or 8.1bn m³/yr] until 2pm German time on June 26; this restriction is understood to be still in force.
Gascade, whilst independently managed, is a 50-50 joint venture of BASF and Gazprom itself. So the fact that it is still partially restricting entry flows – albeit at a comfortably high threshold – suggests that Medvedev's 'mountain out of a molehill' remark may not be an entirely fair characterisation of Polish TSO Gaz-System's decision to halt entry flows via Yamal pipe at its border early June 21.
Gazprom's customers in Europe have tended to avoid commenting on the disruption. German importer Uniper told NGW June 22 it had no comment on the stoppage via Poland. The Yamal pipe is mainly used for Polish state-run PGNiG's 10.2bn m³/yr contractual imports from Gazprom.
Most of Germany's imports from Gazprom now flow through the direct subsea Nord Stream pipeline from Russia. A Gazprom project to build a Nord Stream 2 subsea pipeline system is backed by five European importers but is opposed by Poland, and also by Ukraine whose gas transit system risks becoming by-passed if more and more gas flows directly subsea to Germany.
Mark Smedley / Azerbaijan Desk