- Russia is burning off large amounts of natural gas worth $10 million each day, the BBC reported.
- The gas would previously have been exported to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, experts said.
- Russia has slashed its gas exports to Europe, stoking an energy crisis that's seen benchmark prices soar.
Russia is burning off huge amounts of natural gas that would otherwise have gone to Germany before the Ukraine war upended European energy markets, according to a BBC News report.
A plant near St Petersburg is torching off an estimated $10 million of gas each day, the BBC said Friday, citing analysis from Rystad Energy.
The gas would previously have been exported to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, it said.
But Moscow has slashed gas flows to Europe, cutting the Nord Stream 1's capacity to 20% in July. It now plans to shut the pipeline down entirely for three days of unplanned maintenance starting Wednesday.
The flares are at the Portovaya liquefied natural gas plant near the start of the pipeline, near the border with Finland, per the BBC. It's burning around 4.34 million cubic meters of gas each day, Rystad analysis showed.
Moscow has sought to choke off Europe's gas supplies in apparent response to Western economic and energy sanctions brought in after its invasion of Ukraine.
That's plunged the continent into an energy crisis and has sent benchmark gas prices soaring to record highs. Dutch TTF natural gas futures have risen 264% since June 13.
Germany, which is Europe's largest economy, has felt the energy crunch in particular. Its electricity prices have skyrocketed over 600% in the year to July, and its factory costs are rising at their fastest rate since at least 1949 as industries struggle to find alternative fuels.