At the start of the year, Ukraine has halted all gas Russian gas flows through its territory, mainly through the Soyuz and Brotherhood pipelines that are connected to the main gas point in Sudhza, Kursk. The Ukrainians had also previously halted the flow of oil from the Druhzba pipeline. The pipelines previously served Hungary, Slovakia and Austria and their closure will take away from Gazprom up to €6 billion in revenue every year.
Hungary is to keep receiving Russian gas from the TurkStream pipeline which passes from the Black Sea and will also be transferring more supply to Slovakia. Moldova which is supplied by electricity mainly from a power station in the Russian-controlled Transnistria, is facing an energy crisis as Transnistria is cut off from its main Russian gas line running through Ukraine. To offset the reduction, the Kurchugan power station in Transnistria is now being powered by coal.
Electricity tariffs increased in Europe during the last quarter as gas prices soared hitting a yearly high of $4.18 at the end of the year. Gas prices are now subsiding and are at $3.59 as of writing. Incoming US President Donald Trump is currently pressuring the EU to buy more gas supplies from the US.
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