Germany would grant an additional 15 billion euros ($15.8 billion) in credit lines for the purchase of gas to replenish storage facilities, according to dpa, citing an Economy Ministry paper.
The new credit lines will allow Germany’s gas market operator, Trading Hub Europe (THE), to fill storage levels faster, achieving a major strategic goal of ensuring Germany can survive the winter if Russian supplies are cut off entirely.
However, the dpa report provided no indication of where the additional supplies may be obtained.
Filling gas storage facilities has become more difficult for Germany after Russia reduced the capacity of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by 60%, jeopardising plans to increase storage levels to 80% by October and 90% by November.
The proposals for the loan lines, which will be supplied by state lender KfW (KFW.UL), have been approved by Germany’s Finance Ministry and will be presented to the budget committee next week, according to dpa.
Despite a significant decline in Russian deliveries, the network operator stated on Saturday that Germany’s gas storage facilities had been somewhat filled overnight, but the situation surrounding gas supply remained ‘tight.’
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