Germany used to living without Russian natural gas

Germany has no plans to return to Russian gas supplies, as it has already adjusted to living without them during the Ukraine conflict, co-chair of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), leading candidate for the position of Germany's finance minister believes.

Germany has moved away from Russian gas imports and does not intend to return to them, SPD co-chair Lars Klingbeil said, Bloomberg reports.

The article's authors note that amid the ongoing negotiations regarding Ukraine, there have been "circulating speculations about the resumption of Russian pipeline gas supplies," which could aid Germany's economic recovery.

Klingbeil, whom Bloomberg describes as the leading contender for the next finance minister, dismissed these speculations as unfounded.

According to the SPD co-chair, Germany should avoid becoming dependent on Russian energy imports even after the conflict in Ukraine ends. He added that Berlin and Moscow remain far from normalizing relations due to the ongoing war.

Earlier, in February, Handelsblatt, citing sources in German government and industry circles, reported that German authorities were considering the possibility of "reviving" the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The publication noted that Berlin was exploring the use of the pipeline for importing hydrogen from Finland or, in the event of a settlement in Ukraine, resuming gas supplies from Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also stated that Russia was discussing the restoration of pipeline projects. However, the European Commission has not confirmed any negotiations on reviving the Nord Stream pipelines.

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In 2021 Russia was the world's second-largest producer of natural gas, producing an estimated 701 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year, and the world's largest natural gas exporter, shipping an estimated 250 bcm a year. In 2022 the export market was significantly downsized , following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russia reducing exports after countries refused to pay in rubles. According to The World Factbook estimate, the country also has the largest proven reserves (47 trillion cubic meters (tcm)). BP estimates Russian reserves to be 33 tcm. Additionally, Russia is likely to have the largest volume of undiscovered natural gas deposits, an additional 6.7 tcm, according to 2011 US Geological Survey estimations. Russia consumes approximately 460 bcm a year. Flaring is a problem in Russia.