Free Republic

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday offered to resume gas supplies to Europe through the intact part of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. "The ball is in the EU's court. If they want to, then the taps can be turned on and that's it," he said in a speech at an energy forum in Moscow. Germany, however,,said it would not take Russian gas via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that has become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis. Asked if Berlin would rule out the use of Nord Stream 2, German government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said, "Yes."

Russia is burning off significant quantities of natural gas worth millions of dollars daily, which would have gone to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Experts at Norway-based Rystad Energy found that a new liquified natural gas (LNG) facility northwest of St. Petersburg is burning an estimated $10 million worth of gas every day. The LNG plant is located close to a compressor station at the start of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which transports gas to Germany under the sea via a Baltic Sea pipeline. Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, announced in July that it would reduce natural...