Portovaya: Russia is burning off large amounts of natural gas at a plant near the border with Finland. Sources reveal that Russia is burning an estimated $10m worth of gas every day as Europe’s energy costs skyrocket.
Scientists and environmentalists are concerned over the large volumes of carbon dioxide it is creating as it could exacerbate the melting of Arctic ice. The flares are coming from the new Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant at Portovaya, north-west of St Petersburg. Portovaya is located near a compressor station at the start of the Nordstream 1 pipeline which carries gas under the sea to Germany.
By the end of June, Germany was importing 26% of its gas from Russia, mostly coming from Nord Stream-1. However, Russia has cut the amount of the natural gas it sends to Europe by closing down a turbine on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Speculations are that it would do so caused international gas prices to leap again amid the renewed fears of shortages.