Gazprom head: Whole cities of Europe can be frozen during the winter peak

The hole in Europe's gas balance during peak demand is estimated at 800 million cubic meters of gas per day, says the head of Gazprom Alexei Miller. According to him, during the winter season, at the peak of cold weather, European cities can freeze in a week.

“The question for the most part from European consumers and European politicians is formulated in this way: "Will Europe survive the coming winter with the gas reserves that it has accumulated?" The answer is very simple: "No one can give any guarantees," he said at the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week forum.

Miller believes that the burden that will fall on underground gas storage facilities in Europe this year will be greater than in previous years.

“Today, the logistics are completely different, the sources of gas supply to the European market are completely different. And this means that the burden that will fall on Europe's underground storage facilities will, apparently, be much greater than in previous years, ”he said.

According to him, Germany pumps the most gas. In October, its vaults were almost 95% full.

“Germany is likely to pump about 20 billion cubic meters. During the previous autumn-winter periods, Germany consumed 60 or more 60 billion, which means that gas in underground storage facilities is enough for a maximum of two to two and a half months,” says Alexey Miller.

He is sure that the most pressing question now is how to survive the winter.

“In a short period of time, entire cities and lands can be frozen. Gazprom used to supply from 600 million to 1.7 billion cubic meters per day during winter peaks, when the cold anticyclone "the beast from the east" came. European experts today call 800 million cubic meters. m of gas, which Europe may lack during abnormally severe colds, and this is one third of all European consumption,” added the head of Gazprom.