‎“Goldman Sachs”‎‏:‏‎ Gas prices in Europe to hit record levels

Goldman Sachs revealed that it expects natural gas prices in Europe to rise near the record levels recorded during the month of August, after Russia said that its main pipeline to Europe will not resume flows as planned.

Analysts, including Damien Corvalin, head of energy research at the US bank, said the news is likely to “re-ignite uncertainty in the market regarding the region’s ability to manage stocks during the winter,” Bloomberg reported. ‎

Russia refused to resume pumping natural gas through the largest pipeline extending from it to Europe, which increases the risks of power outages, pointing to a maintenance problem, while Western governments accuse Moscow of looking for an excuse to cut supplies in response to Sanctions imposed on it after her invasion of Ukraine.

Analysts expect that the disruption of gas flows through the Russian pipeline will lead to a significant rise in prices as of tomorrow, Monday, and is likely to mimic the heights of August.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline carrying Russian natural gas to Germany was shut down on August 31 due to what the Russian gas producer (Gazprom) said will take three days of maintenance work that ended on Saturday.

Gazprom announced Friday that it will not be able to resume flows, citing an oil leak in the main gas turbine at the Portovaya pumping station near St. Petersburg, according to Reuters.