Germany’s Gascade says request emerges for west-bound supply via Yamal-Europe

• Financial

On Friday, data from German gas transportation network operator Gascade had unveiled that retailers were requesting west-bound flows of Russian natgas through Yamal-Europe pipeline into Germany’s Mallnow metering point on January 1 at a rate of 8.3 million kilowatt hours per hour, as retailers sought for stockpiles amid a sky-scrapping natgas market price.

Surprisingly, the Yamal-Europe pipeline’s influx points into Germany Mallnow had been funnelling Poland-bound natgas since December 21, adding further pressure on gas prices in Europe that had already spiked to a record earlier in December, as gas traders appeared to be relying heavily on stockpiles in a bid to avert record-high natgas prices for new contracts.

Requests emerge for Russian gas through Yamal-Europe pipeline into Germany

Nonetheless, although, a warmer-than-usual winter alongside an increase in natgas supplies had offset worries of a decline in low Russian pipeline flows over recent past, natgas prices had still been hovering at a blistering level in Europe, as the Russian President Vladimir Putin had accused German retailers of selling Russian natgas to Ukraine and Poland instead disbursing them into other eurozone economies, which in effect would have eased a robust build-up in price pressures.

However, it still remains uncertain on whether the new January 1 Russian natgas contracts would be disbursed among eurozone economies, suggested analysts. A spokesperson for German Economy Ministry had declined to comment over President Putin’s allegation that German retailers had allegedly played a pivotal part in a flare-up in natgas prices by reselling them to Poland and Ukraine.

Nonetheless, the auction data also had unmasked that the partially state-backed Russ gas giant Gazprom had not booked any contract for January 1 natgas through the pipeline, stoking doubts on whether requests for Russian natgas inflows through Yamal-Europe pipeline would reach Germany in the first week of New Year.