Will Vladimir Putin Retaliate by Turning off Britain’s Gas?
A report from S&P Platts concludes that relying on Russia may be the only option for Britain, and Europe, if the demand for natural gas increases. As a cold snap is heading to Europe, gas demand is going to increase, and based on recent events – including British PM evicting 23 Russian diplomats in the wake of a Russian-created nerve gas being used on a ex-Russian spy and his daughter in the UK – could Putin be using this as revenge?
Gas reserves across Europe have hit a record low after recent cold weather, and closure of Britain’s gas storage facilities haven’t helped. While official figures show that only a small portion of Britain’s gas comes directly from Russia, many of the major pipelines that supply Europe begin in Russia. This has resulted in Russian-owned companies, such as Gazprom, control over European gas supplies.
Britain’s PM is currently looking into getting gas supplied from other countries, but will it happen in time? MP Stephen Crabb had this to say:
“We know Russia deliberately uses its energy resources to create relationships of dependency across Europe and I don’t think we should be putting ourselves in that position. There are lots of options.”
Mike Foster, from the Energy and Utilities alliance, has warned that Russia could retaliate;
“If we have greater levels of imports there is always some vulnerability and the risk is greater from events. This is one of those positions where there is an event and the situation could degenerate to the position where Russia does look to reduce the amount of gas it supplies to the West. It loses money if it does, but as a retaliatory measure, it’s conceivable.”
