Energy monitor blames Russia for worsening Europe gas crisis

By DAVID McHUGH
AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The head of the International Energy Agency has blamed Russia for worsening Europe’s natural gas crisis. Fatih Birol said Wednesday that high prices and low storage levels largely stem from the behavior of state-owned gas supplier Gazprom. He says Gazprom could send up to a third more gas through existing pipelines. That would amount to some 10% of European daily consumption and about what industry officials say would be needed to avoid a severe shortage in case of colder-than-expected weather. Russian President Vladimir Putin has underscored that Gazprom has met its obligations under long-term contracts and blamed high spot gas prices on European decisions to move toward volatile short-term market pricing.