Europe’s Energy Bills Rocket as Russia Burns Gas

According to an analysis of BBC News, Russia is burning large quantities of natural gas as Europe’s energy prices continue to rise. According to them, the plant near Finland’s border burns an estimated US$10Mn of gas per day. Experts believe that the gas was previously exported to Germany. The German ambassador to the UK told BBC News that Russia was burning gas because it couldn’t be sold elsewhere.

Scientists are worried about the high carbon dioxide levels and soot, which could lead to melting Arctic ice. Rystad Energie has found that the flare burns approximately 4.34 million m³ gas/day. This Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) comes from Portovaya (northwest of St Petersburg). Portovaya is close to a compressor station near the Nord Stream1 pipeline, transporting gas under the sea to Germany.

The Russians claim that technical difficulties caused the suspension of supplies to the channel. Germany insists it was a political move in response to Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. However, researchers noticed increased heat signatures coming out of the facility from June to July. This could be due to gas flaring, which is the burning of natural gas. Finnish citizens near the border saw a large flame earlier in the summer and realized something was wrong.

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Although gas is a standard aspect in processing plants, this is not done for safety or technical reasons. Experts have been baffled at the extent of this burning. “I have never seen LNG plants flare so much,” stated Dr. Jessica McCarty, an expert on satellite data at Miami University. “We first saw this peak in June and it didn’t disappear. It’s remained extremely high. Miguel Berger, German ambassador to the UK, stated that European efforts positively affected Russia’s economy by reducing dependence on Russian natural gas. He said, “They don’t know where to sell their gas, so they have it burned.” Mark Davis, the CEO of Capterio, a company involved with gas flaring.

He believes the flaring was not an accident but a deliberate decision for operational reasons. “Operators are often very reluctant to close down facilities out of fear that they might be technically hard or costly to restart again,” he told BBC News.

Others are concerned that it could prove difficult to handle large amounts of gas flowing through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The Russian energy company Gazprom might have intended to use this gas to produce LNG at the plant. However, they may have encountered problems handling it. It could also reflect the European trade embargo imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of the Ukraine.

“This kind of long-term flaring can mean that they may be missing some equipment,” Esa Varkkilainen, a professor of energy engineering at Finland’s LUT University, said. “So, Russia’s trade embargo has prevented them from making high-quality valves required in oil & gas processing. It is possible that some valves have been damaged and cannot be replaced. 

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Gazprom – Russia’s state-controlled power giant, has not replied to requests for comment about the flaring. “While the exact causes of the flaring remain unknown, the volumes and emissions of the flare, as well as their location, are a clear reminder of Russia’s dominance over Europe’s energy market,” stated Sindre Knutsson from Rystad. Scientists agree that there are financial and environmental risks each day the flare continues burning.

“There could not have been a more accessible signal – Russia can bring energy prices down in the future. This gas could have been exported via Nord Stream 1 – or other alternatives. Globally, energy prices rose sharply after COVID lockdowns were lifted. Many places of employment, industry, and leisure suddenly required more energy at that exact time, which placed unprecedented strain due to demand on suppliers.

After Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, prices increased once more in February. European governments searched for ways to import less gas from Russia. Russia supplied 40% of the EU’s natural gas requirements. Because of this, gas prices rose, and certain EU nations, such as Germany and Spain, now have energy-saving measures in place. Scientists are concerned about the environmental effects of burning this natural resource.

Researchers believe that flaring is better than just venting methane, which is the primary constituent in the gas. Flaring also acts as a powerful climate-warming agent. Russia has a history of using gas. According to the World Bank, it is the largest country in terms of flaring volume. These flares release approximately 9,000 tons of CO2 equivalent each day. However, other serious issues are also caused by the burning.

Black carbon refers to sooty particles formed by the incomplete combustion of fuels such as natural gas. According to some highly-cited estimates, flaring is the predominant source of black carbon deposition in the Arctic. Matthew Johnson, a professor from Canada’s Carleton University said that, flaring at Arctic latitudes poses a particular threat because it causes emitted carbon to move northward, where it deposits on snow and then accelerates melting. Any increase in flaring is particularly unwanted.