Vice-President of the Security Council of Russia and former President of the country Dmitry Medvedev estimated that by the end of this year the price of gas will reach 5,000 euros per thousand cubic meters of gas, and Western countries associate the increase with the invasion of the Russian military from Ukraine, reports the Italian channel Rai News, quoted by Rador.

“Due to the fact that the price of gas has increased and reached 3,500 euros per thousand cubic meters, I am forced to revise upwards the expected cost, which will reach 5,000 euros by the end of 2022,” Medvedev wrote in his Telegram channel and, turning to the heads of European states, he ended the post by writing “Bitter greetings”.

The words of the ex-president of Russia further fuel the fears that prevail throughout Europe due to the continuous increase in gas prices. The central issue of the Italian election campaign in the September 25 elections, Rai News notes. Leaders of all parties are calling on the government in Rome to take action to ease the burden on households and businesses, but the Italian executive says there are no immediate steps to do so.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, they are working on the hypothesis of limiting gas prices and preparing an extraordinary meeting of energy ministers.

German Energy Minister Robert Habeck told Der Spiegel that Germany’s gas storage is filling up faster than expected, despite uncertainty over supplies through a key pipeline in Russia. “The companies will then be able to withdraw gas from storage as planned to supply industry and the public.” Germany is doing everything possible to complete the gas storage operation before winter. The ruling coalition in Berlin obliged to fill the facilities by 85% by October and 95% by November. According to the latest report from the Federal Grid Agency, strategic gas fields were 81.3% full on Friday, while Nord Stream’s capacity was around 20%.

Russians burn gas literally for nothing

In this context, Russia burns a large amount of methane at its plant in Portova, near the border with Finland. That’s according to an analysis by the Norwegian company Rystad Energy, published by the BBC, which published several images of a large flame rising from a plant run by Gazprom, satellite images showing infrared radiation caused by burning gases. According to some experts, it will even be about gas intended for export to Germany. Portova is located next to the compressor station at the beginning of the Northern Stream-1 gas pipeline, which transports gas to Berlin. It is estimated that $10 million (about €10 million) worth of gas is turned into smoke every day.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal written by two US energy experts, Paul Roderick Gregory of the Hoover Institution (Stanford) and Ramanan Krishnamurthy of the University of Houston, Texas, the unsold gas would have to be destroyed, which would severely damage Russia’s economy in order to avoid more damage that may be caused to the fields or the distribution network. By the end of 2022, Russia will transport only 19 billion cubic meters to Europe instead of 55 billion. But on the other hand, if Russia does not sell to Europe, what else should it do? Gas is also not enough (oil is easier, it is transported on ships). To save? The capacity of Russian gas storage facilities is running out. Close the wells and stop production? There are technical risks. For him to burn it, and in addition to harming the environment, this gesture also means the destruction of the main resource for the Russian economy. At a crucial moment for Putin, who needs financial resources for military spending.

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