The head of Germany's Wintershall said Tuesday the European Commission should allow the OPAL gas pipeline to be used at full capacity to help ensure gas supply security to southern Germany.
The 36 Bcm/year Opal pipeline -- co-owned by Russia's Gazprom and Wintershall -- brings Russian gas onshore from the 55 Bcm/year Nord Stream 1 pipeline and carries it across Germany to the Czech border from where it can be transited to the south of Germany.
But Gazprom's access to the OPAL pipeline is limited to half of its capacity under EU rules.
"Brussels should not block the planned full capacity utilization of the German pipeline any longer," Wintershall CEO Mario Mehren said at an event in Munich.
According to a company statement quoting Mehren, he said he hoped approval would be granted "before winter."
Mehren was speaking of the role gas could play in helping ensure energy supply security in Bavaria in southern Germany.
OPAL, he said, allows for gas to be transported directly from Russia to southern Germany via the Czech pipeline "Gazelle" that was commissioned in 2013.
This link to the Nord Stream via OPAL has enhanced supply security in Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg considerably, Wintershall said.
Before this, southern Germany received Russian gas from the Czech Republic and Austria that was transited via Ukraine.
Gazprom plans to be able to eliminate gas transit via Ukraine post-2019 with the construction of Nord Stream 2.
Wintershall is a supporter of Nord Stream 2 and had been part of the joint venture operating company until last month when it was abandoned because of Polish competition objections.
"The EU must, of course, respond to developments in Ukraine," Mehren said. "But good economic sense must not be overshadowed by foreign policy considerations. A sense of proportion is vital, otherwise we will squander the very valuable asset of supply security in Germany," he said.
GAS IN POWER
Mehren said gas-fired power generation should be increased in southern Germany.
"In 2022, if not before, Bavaria will face difficulties with its electricity supply," Mehren said.
"At this time, when the last German nuclear power plants in Bavaria are taken off the grid, there will be an electricity generation shortfall of up to 4 GW. Renewable energies cannot replace that, at least not at affordable and responsible prices," he said.
Gas-fired power plants, which could then stabilize the electricity grid, are not being deployed sufficiently, Mehren said.
According to Wintershall, the Bavarian state government already forecasts that the share of gas in the state's electricity supply will rise from 8.9% in 2014 to 23% by 2025.
"Bavaria's economic motor runs on gas," Mehren said.
