Later, reports stated that the flame was emanating from the brand-new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility at Portovaya, close to St. Petersberg.
What they thought they were seeing was really a flare, a kind of combustion device intended to burn off natural gas instead of selling it.
Since June, the facility’s heat emissions have increased significantly, according to research utilizing satellite detectors.
Experts believe that the plant burns £8.4 million worth of gas per day.
According to the German ambassador to the UK, “They don’t have other areas where they can sell their gas, so they have to burn it.”
Putin stopped supplying gas to numerous European nations. Putin says that if the EU and Britain continue to rely on Russian gas, economies across the continent would collapse.
The term “flaring” refers to the purposeful and controlled burning away of gas.
According to statistics from the World Bank, Russia uses the most natural gas in the world, releasing 24.88 billion cubic meters annually as of 2020.
When natural gas cannot be transferred right away and there are no storage facilities, it is flared to burn it off.
With order to sustain production levels, the gas must be flared if it cannot be held, as is the case in the oil installations spread around the area.
Operators often find it more cost-effective to burn current gas than to discontinue output since gas facilities may be costly to restart if inactive for an extended length of time.
Plant operators sometimes choose to burn off the fuel instead of liquefying natural gas and turning it into a liquid.
The American Cancer Society lists many compounds emitted via flaring as recognized carcinogens, including benzene.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline starts at a compressor station not far from the facility. A disagreement between Russia and the West over whether to shut down the pipeline has led some to believe that Russia is purposefully burning the gas.
Following Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine on February 24, gas prices in Europe have skyrocketed, and they have continued to rise since Putin shut off gas supplies to numerous European nations.
Dr. Jessica McCarty of Miami University remarked, “I’ve never seen an LNG facility flare that much.” We saw this enormous peak starting around June, and it simply wouldn’t go down. It has remained extremely abnormally high.
Rystad Energy estimates that the flare burns 4.34 million cubic meters of gas each day.
Flaring is said to have the ability to seriously affect the environment, but it is also thought to be a part of Putin’s strategy to freeze the West by restricting gas supplies, forcing a shift in strategy over Ukraine.
Finland’s gas imports have been stopped since May as a result of Helsinki’s rejection of Putin’s demand for payment in roubles.
In response to Russian efforts to manipulate the value of their currency, which had fallen when war broke out, Poland and Bulgaria likewise refused to pay in roubles.
Putin believes that reliance on Russian gas would destroy businesses throughout the continent, and the EU and Britain are working to reduce this need.
In reaction to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the West took this step.
Putin is now said to have forced a “gas famine” on Europe in an effort to persuade NATO nations to cease providing weaponry, which has interfered with his intentions to subdue Ukraine.
In July, Gazprom’s exports fell by 58%, while production fell by 33%.
The LNG flare, according to reports from Russian media, is a typical step in the manufacturing process and nothing out of the ordinary.
According to statistics from the World Bank, Russia uses the most natural gas in the world, releasing 24.88 billion cubic meters annually as of 2020.
According to Russian officials, gas was not intentionally destroyed in order to cause the flares.
The LNG flare, according to reports from Russian media, is a typical step in the manufacturing process and nothing out of the ordinary.
The flare, according to the Finns, began in June and is a phenomena they haven’t seen cross the border previously at this intensity.
It happens at the same time as supply to clients in the West are being reduced.
Russia provides little gas to Britain, but in June, it was announced that for the first time lately, the country had gone a whole month without purchasing any fuel from Russia.
Households around the nation are affected by the high costs paid as a result of Putin’s shipments to Europe being restricted.