Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Information Minister in Pakistani-administered Kashmir: Five civilians killed and at least 29 others injured in shelling across the border with India
Israeli Army Radio's diplomatic correspondent quoted a senior Israeli official as saying: So he [Trump] decided to cut off contact. That might still change, but that’s the situation right now
Israeli Army Radio's diplomatic correspondent quoted a senior Israeli official as saying: Trump’s circle told him [Dermer] that Netanyahu was manipulating him, and there’s nothing Trump hates more than being portrayed as someone being played
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: Meetings between the Israelis, Egyptians, and Qataris are all centered around the Israeli proposal, which does not guarantee an end to the war [on Gaza]
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: “Israel” is threatening to expand the ground offensive if Hamas rejects the proposal
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: Hamas rejects the Israeli proposal, viewing it as failing to guarantee an end to the war
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: “Israel” is sticking to its proposal, and insists there is no alternative offer on the table for negotiation
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: The meetings between the Israelis and the Egyptians and Qataris all revolve around the Israeli proposal
The administration was clearly looking for an off-ramp for this campaign against Ansar Allah, NBC News reports, citing US official
Trump's operation against Ansar Allah cost more than $1 billion, NBC News reports, citing US official

Germany racing to stockpile gas before winter season

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 15 Jun 2022 10:24
3 Min Read

Germany's battle to wean itself from Russian energy and store enough gas before winter is taking place in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps.

  • x
  • Germany racing to stockpile gas before winter season
    Germany racing to stockpile gas before winter season

Like other storage facilities, the Bierwang natural gas field in Unterreit is one of Germany's largest underground gas facilities. It refills its inventories between winters in order to keep houses warm and Germany's energy-hungry industries running during the cold months when demand is highest.

European governments are scrambling to store supplies as the war in Ukraine goes on.

Read more: Germany to pursue gas projects, renewable energy with Senegal

Sebastian Herold, a professor of energy economics at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, stated that the security of supply in the winter depends on two factors, "how full the storage facilities are and how much new gas keeps arriving from abroad."

He added that Russian deliveries are crucial. 

Fears that a sudden shortfall of Russian gas may bring Europe's largest economy to its knees drove the German government to pass laws mandating that all of the country's gas reservoirs be 90% full by November.

The capacity of the above and subsurface sites combined is able to cover 25% of Germany's natural gas demand. They operate as a form of buffer in times of market stress or when demand increases due to extremely cold weather.

Related News

Bavarian court enables German counterintelligence to monitor AfD

Ukraine ceasefire or full conflict with Russia: Serb President

Germany has already decided to phase out Russian oil and coal as part of Western sanctions against Moscow. However, getting independent of Russian gas will take longer – and will not be cheap, as the Ukraine conflict and following sanctions drive up energy prices.

So far, Berlin has managed to cut its reliance on Russian natural gas from 55% prior to the war to 35% presently, owing to increasing supply from countries such as Norway and the Netherlands, as well as liquefied natural gas contracts (LNG).

A network of long-distance pipes transports gas to the Bierwang storage facility. The gas is then compressed before being injected into porous sandstone reserves deep down.

This approach enables enormous amounts of natural gas to be stored, although it takes longer to fill and empty than the second type of subterranean storage that relies on massive caverns in rock salt formations, which is more popular in northern Germany.

Doug Waters, managing director of Uniper Energy Storage, which operates nine storage facilities in Germany stated that "we're on a good way to hopefully deliver the security supply this winter."

According to the German Federal Network Agency, which broadcasts daily reports online, Germany's gas storage facilities were 55% full on Tuesday.

The agency's chairman, Klaus Mueller, said the current fill rate is "better than in past years, but still insufficient." The situation at Germany's critical Rehden gas storage facility in the north, the country's largest, complicates the country's task to prepare for winter.

In April, the German state temporarily assumed control of the site's owner, Gazprom Germania, a move Berlin justified as vital to safeguard energy security as relations with Russia deteriorated.

German taxpayers and gas users could face an increased cost, approximately €5 billion ($5.4 billion), since Russia imposed sanctions against Gazprom Germania and its subsidiaries, the Welt am Sonntag weekly reported, citing industry representatives.

Last month, in May, Russia stopped supplying Gazprom Germania the German subsidiary of Gazprom. The decision came after Berlin put the company under trustee management following the Ukraine war.

  • Bavaria
  • Gas Crisis
  • Russia
  • Germany
  • Russian Gas

Most Read

Pro-Palestinian protesters march toward the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Washington (AP)

US House to vote on bill criminalizing boycott of 'Israel'

  • Politics
  • 3 May 2025
Throughout Operation Prosperity Guardian, current and former US military and intelligence officials expressed disquiet at the enormous “cost offset” involved in battling Ansar Allah. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

Ansar Allah triumphant: US facing Red Sea defeat again

  • Opinion
  • 3 May 2025
Pakistan downs an Indian jet and hits a military base in Kashmir escalation.

Pakistan downs 3 Indian jets, hits military base in Kashmir escalation

  • Politics
  • 7 May 2025
Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu, senior Israeli official says

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu: Israeli media

  • US & Canada
  • Today

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
UN experts warn: Stop the genocide or witness Gaza's end
Politics

Stop the genocide or witness end of life in Gaza: UN experts warn

Israeli police attack mourners as they carry the casket of killed Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during her funeral in occupied al-Quds, Friday, May 13, 2022. (AP)
Politics

Israeli sniper who killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh identified

The Department of Defense logo is seen on the wall in the Press Briefing room at the Pentagon, Oct. 29, 2024, in Washington. (AP)
Politics

Pentagon’s unused properties drain billions in taxpayer funds

Haaretz
Palestine

Israeli military avoids calling up unwilling reservists: Haaretz

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS