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 said today.
The first shipments of natural gas from France to Germany started at 06:00 via a pipeline crossing the common border of Moselle/Medelsheim and 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, according to GFTgaz.
The amount is equivalent to 10% of what France receives daily in liquefied natural gas (LNG) in its four terminals, the operator says.
The interconnection points at the Franco-German border were initially designed to operate in the opposite direction (Germany-France) and the system had to be reversed to allow for the new gas circulation.
“It is a historic situation. It is the first time that France will send gas directly to Germany. Until now, our gas has been sent to Belgium,” said Thierry Trouvé, general manager 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 traffic flow between France and Germany.
Germany has a shortage of gas that is mainly used in the industrial sector, which is vital to the country’s economy.
France has more gas than Germany as it benefits from supplies of liquefied natural gas, mainly from the United States, which supplied reserves for next winter.
GRTgaz is the second largest gas carrier in Europe, with 32,500 kilometers of pipelines and 640 TWh of gas transported.
The energy crisis was caused by Russia’s new military campaign against Ukraine that began on February 24.
Source: DN
