Russia is burning an estimated $10 million worth of natural gas which threatens to push Europe into a winter energy crisis by cutting gas supplies.
Russian state gas giant Gazprom is burning off, or “flaring,” about 4.34 million cubic meters of gas a day at a new liquified natural gas (LNG) facility, according to the analysis of heat levels and satellite data by Rystad Energy, an energy consultancy based in Norway.
Flaring is common in oil and gas production, but the current level is unusually high.
The blazing flare can be seen in satellite images of Portovaya, the site of a compressor station for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
Russia has been involved in an energy stand-off with Europe since its invasion of Ukraine in late February.
In recent months, Russia’s Gazprom has cut off flows through Nord Stream 1 over a dispute and suspended supplies completely to other EU states over its insistence that those countries pay for gas in rubles instead of euros or dollars.