East-Bound Gas Flows via Russian Yamal-Europe Pipeline in Reverse for Ninth Week

A worker climbs a cylinder at a gas compressor station at the Yamal-Europe pipeline near Nesvizh, southwest of Minsk December 29, 2006. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko (BELARUS)/File Photo
A worker climbs a cylinder at a gas compressor station at the Yamal-Europe pipeline near Nesvizh, southwest of Minsk December 29, 2006. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko (BELARUS)/File Photo
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East-Bound Gas Flows via Russian Yamal-Europe Pipeline in Reverse for Ninth Week

A worker climbs a cylinder at a gas compressor station at the Yamal-Europe pipeline near Nesvizh, southwest of Minsk December 29, 2006. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko (BELARUS)/File Photo
A worker climbs a cylinder at a gas compressor station at the Yamal-Europe pipeline near Nesvizh, southwest of Minsk December 29, 2006. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko (BELARUS)/File Photo

Gas flows via the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which usually travel west from Russia to Europe, remained in reverse on Monday with volumes in line with last week's levels, data from German network operator Gascade showed.

This will be the ninth week the link between Poland and Germany has been operating in the reverse direction, since Dec. 21, putting upward pressure on European gas prices. Flows from Germany to Poland via the Mallnow metering point stood at around 1.5 million kilowatt hours per hour (kWh/h) on Monday morning, unchanged from the levels seen over the last week.

Renominations, or bids, to flow gas from Germany to Poland are expected to remain at around 1.5 million kWh/h until Tuesday morning. The pipeline usually accounts for about 15% of Russia's annual westbound supply of gas to Europe and Turkey.

Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom, which can book pipeline capacity at daily auctions, had not ordered any transit capacity for February via the route.

It also did not book capacity for the second and third quarters of the year.

On another major route for Russian deliveries to Europe, for supply to Slovakia from Ukraine via the Velke Kapusany border point, capacity nominations for Monday rose to 362,718 MWh from 282,820 MWh on Friday.

Nominations via this route hit a 2022 high of 850,143 MWh at the start of February.



No Known Intelligence that Iran Moved Uranium, US Defense Chief Says

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali
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No Known Intelligence that Iran Moved Uranium, US Defense Chief Says

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali

US defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said he was unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved any of its highly enriched uranium to shield it from US strikes on Iran's nuclear program over the weekend.

"I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise," Hegseth said, Reuters reported.

After the strikes, several experts also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of Fordow before the strike early Sunday morning and could be hiding it and other nuclear components in locations unknown to Israel, the US and UN nuclear inspectors.

They noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showing "unusual activity" at Fordow on Thursday and Friday, with a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance to the facility. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday most of the near weapons-grade 60% highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the US attack. Hegseth's comments denying those claims came at a news briefing where he accused the media of downplaying the success of US strikes on Iran's nuclear program following a leaked, preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggesting they may have only set back Iran by months.

Hegseth said the assessment was low confidence, and, citing comments from CIA Director John Ratcliffe, said it had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran's nuclear program was severely damaged by recent US strikes, and that it would take years to rebuild.