RELATED ARTICLESSeptember 1010 - Last year Russia improved the gas-pricing scheme under which it buys Central Asian gas. It's a move that now seems to have rung the death knell for the Nabucco pipeline, says Andrey Konoplyanik*September 2009 June 2009 - North America: Arctic pipeline plans on the rocks
German regulation threatens pipeline bottlenecks
By NJ Watson Inadequate regulation is hampering investment in Germany's gas-distribution network and might mean Russian imports through the planned Nord Stream pipeline have nowhere to go when it arrives in Germany. "The story doesn't end when you reach the EU border," Marcel Kramer, chief executive of the Netherlands' Gasunie told WGC News. "Our gas must be able to reach the markets that our customers want it to." European suppliers, importers and infrastructure firms say more effective regulation must be put in place immediately to prevent serious bottlenecks in the system. Bundesnetzagentur, Germany's network operator, said last month that from 1 October it would cut the fees 10 operators can charge – including E.On, Gazprom, Gasunie, Dong Energy and GDF Suez – by an average 25%. The new fees will be valid until 2013. As a result, gas companies say returns are too low to generate new investment. "We're faced with inadequate systems in some countries," Kramer said. "Returns are simply too low." Gasunie, an owner and operator of an important gas-transport system in northern Germany, has received over 25 requests from gas companies for new transport capacity. On 1 October, Dong Energy signed a contract with Russia's Gazprom to double deliveries of natural gas from 2012 through the Nord Stream pipeline, which will transport Siberian gas to northern Germany under the Baltic Sea. While the German regulator and politicians of the federal states have acknowledged the gas companies' complaints and are prepared to discuss their concerns, the companies are concerned that their response lacks the necessary urgency. "We're concerned about the speed and timing of any resolution, because the investment decisions for these projects are coming up now," said Kramer. "We can't wait until this gas is already coming."
|
