Yahoo Finance Russia's Gazprom saw gas exports fall 11.5% in October as EU gas storage nears full capacity amid mild weather
Russia's Gazprom saw gas exports fall 11.5% in October as the EU gas storage nears full capacity.
The bloc has been scrambling to find alternative supplies after Russia shut down the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
But even full storage may not be enough to prevent blackouts, especially if the weather turns abnormally cold.
Russia's state-run natural gas producer Gazprom saw exports fall 11.5% in October from the prior month, largely because European Union gas storage facilities are nearing full capacity amid mild weather.
That could mean good news for the EU, as the bloc weans off from Russian energy and scrambles to prepare for a looming supply crunch this winter. Russia has historically supplied around 40% of the EU's gas consumption, and has threatened to completely stop selling gas if the EU presses forward with a planned gas price cap.
But mild temperatures have eased demand, giving the continent some legroom to squirrel more gas into storage, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. EU gas stockpiles were 94% capacity last week, above the five-year average of 89%.
Meanwhile, Russia's total gas flows to Europe are about a fifth of pre-war levels, after Gazprom cut off deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in September.
However, experts and industry officials have warned Europe isn't completely set for winter and could still be slammed with blackouts as supply is set to grow even tighter.
The International Energy Agency has warned the EU could risk supply disruptions even with 90% capacity. And Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said even full gas storage may not be enough if Europe faces a particularly cold winter.
Europe has largely turned to the US to replace Russian gas, but that won't be enough to fill the gaping hole Russia left in the EU's energy supplies, according to BloombergNEF analysts, especially as US gas production starts to thin.
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