Part of a key pipeline transporting natural gas from Russia to Europe suddenly reversed its flow direction Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Flows in the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which sends natural gas to Germany via Poland, were recorded going eastward away from Europe on Tuesday morning, data from the European firm Gascade showed, Reuters reported, citing data from German network operator Gascade. Flows leaving Germany were moving at a whopping 4.3 million kilowatt-hours per hour at one section of the pipeline.
The pipeline is operated by the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom and is one of three routes the company uses to export natural gas to western Europe. The Yamal-Europe pipeline is responsible for 10% of the region’s natural gas supplies, meaning a substantial flow shift could lead to much higher energy prices for many European consumers.
