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Niosus t1_j1pl7zy wrote

Reply to comment by thinks1ow in Russia ready to resume gas supplies to Europe via Yamal-Europe pipeline -Novak by IndependentTHNKR

It's not as easy as turning a switch, but it's not like Russia is the only gas exporter in the world. Prices went crazy because there was a sudden shift in supply. It takes time to shift to different suppliers. As things stabilize, you'll see prices normalize again.

They won't ever go as low as the Russian prices, because those had a hidden cost. But even now the gas prices are already much more reasonable. The poor will need some support, but in general it's looking like most people will be just fine.

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thinks1ow t1_j1plrd3 wrote

Also prices “went crazy” because gas companies saw an opportunity to hike prices to make record profits, let’s not lie to ourselves. Their balance sheets are public knowledge, it’s not even a conspiracy

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11OldSoul11 t1_j1pm9ln wrote

thanks, that was were I was going with my question. Right now the prices are pre-war and they were artificially high caused by panic and the gas companies exploring this very quickly and people running along with it.

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thinks1ow t1_j1pmbxv wrote

Yup, unfortunately you are dead on here

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thinks1ow t1_j1plcxz wrote

The ability to export gas does take significant infrastructure though which not only takes money but a lot of time to physically build. This is one of the larger choke holds on the situation from my understanding

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Niosus t1_j1r9d85 wrote

Yes there is a need for more plants that can take LNG and turn it back to gas. There isn't nearly enough capacity for that yet. But there has been significant progress already in Germany, where it is needed most. These plants are usually slow to build because of bureaucratic issues and a lack of urgency. However when there is a strong need to get capacity up and running quickly, you'd be surprised how quickly those plants can be up and running. Next winter might not yet see many of those being operational, but by the winter after that they absolutely will be. Combined with the already 20% reduction in gas usage in Europe on such short notice, I'm not particularly worried. Nothing breeds efficiency like necessity.

Mind you I'm from a country that was bombed to rubble by both the Nazis and the Allies back in WW2. People are more resilient than they think. If my grandparents could live through that 80 years ago and the Ukrainians can do it now... I'll be just fine doubling up on blankets. We're still the lucky ones in this whole ordeal...

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thinks1ow t1_j1plivi wrote

We are seeing improvements in LNG technology however which could potentially provide some alleviation but it’s still not on the scale to support the majority of Europe

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