Russian gas continues to flow east via Yamal-Europe pipeline

A worker climbs a cylinder at a gas compressor station at the Yamal-Europe pipeline near Nesvizh, southwest of Minsk December 29, 2006. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters) – The Yamal-Europe pipeline that usually delivers Russian gas to Western Europe was sending the fuel back to Poland for a ninth straight day on Wednesday, according to data from German network operator Gascade.

Data showed flows at the Mallnow metering point on the German-Polish border were going east into Poland at an hourly volume of nearly 1.2 million kilowatt hours (kWh/h) on Wednesday morning, on par with the flows for the past 24 hours.

The pipeline is a major route for Russian gas exports to Europe. read more

Auction results showed Russian gas exporter Gazprom has not booked gas transit capacity for exports via the Yamal-Europe pipeline for Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Germany was reselling Russian gas to Poland and Ukraine rather than relieving an overheated market, putting blame for the reversal, and rocketing prices, on German gas importers. read more

The German Economy Ministry has declined comment on Putin’s remark. Gas importers have not responded to Reuters requests for comment.

Data from Slovak pipeline operator Eustream showed capacity nominations for Wednesday’s Russian gas flows from Ukraine to Slovakia via the Velke Kapusany border point, another major route for Russian gas to Europe, were at 843,422 megawatt hours (MWh), rising from Tuesday’s 773,712 but still below levels seen earlier in December.

Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva and Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; additional reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague; Editing by Michael Perry

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