Original title: senior American officials: Europe may have "no gas available" this winter
A US State Department official said that due to tight natural gas inventories and limited supply in Russia, Europe may run out of natural gas for household heating this winter.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg quoted Amos Hochstein, senior adviser to the State Department on energy security, as saying:
If this winter is colder than usual, my worry is that there will not be enough natural gas for heating in some parts of Europe. While some countries can still buy natural gas at higher costs, others may be forced to ration fuel.
At the same time, Hochstein said that Russia's natural gas supply to Europe was "inexplicably low compared with the previous two years and their capacity." he said that Russia was trying to use the energy crisis to strengthen its support for the Beixi 2 natural gas pipeline project, which was opposed by US President Joe Biden.
Wall Street has previously mentioned that Goldman Sachs believes that low natural gas inventories, reduced imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and reduced natural gas transmission in Russia jointly lead to a sharp rise in natural gas prices in Europe this year. If the European winter is colder than expected this year, the local industrial sector may face the risk of forced power failure.
Tight natural gas supply has plunged Europe into an energy crisis, natural gas prices have set a record, some factories have been forced to close, and policymakers are worried about the impact of soaring household and business costs.
In its latest statement, the International Energy Agency said that the European natural gas market may undergo more "stress tests" this winter. The rise in natural gas prices is not due to energy transformation. It called on Russia to supply more natural gas to Europe, and said that the energy crisis is an opportunity for Russia to show its "reliable suppliers".
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