France began supplying natural gas directly to Germany on Thursday, as part of the European energy solidarity plan implemented to overcome the end of energy flows from Russia, the company GRTgaz reported on Thursday.
The first shipments of natural gas from France to Germany began at 06:00 through a gas pipeline that crosses the common Moselle/Medelsheim border in the Saar.
The distribution will be “evaluated every day, depending on the capacity of the network” and that they have a maximum capacity of 100 GWh/day, GFTgaz said.
The amount corresponds to 10% of what France receives daily in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the four terminals it has, says the operator.
The interconnection points on the Franco-German border were initially designed to operate in the opposite direction (Germany-France) and it was necessary to invert the system to allow the new gas circulation.
“It is a historic situation. It is the first time that France is going to send gas directly to Germany. Until now our gas was sent to Belgium”, said Thierry Trouvé, general director of GRTgaz, questioned by France Presse.
GRTgaz in collaboration with German companies (OEG and GRTgaz Deutschland) carried out a series of “technical adjustments” to ensure the flow between France and Germany.
Germany has a deficit of gas used in particular in the industrial sector, which is vital for the country’s economy.
France has more gas than Germany because it benefits from Liquefied Natural Gas supplies, mainly from the United States, having supplied the reserves for next winter.
GRTgaz is the second largest gas carrier in Europe, with 32,500 kilometers of gas pipelines and 640 TWh of gas transported.
The energy crisis was triggered by Russia’s new military campaign against Ukraine that began on February 24.
Source: TSF
