MOSCOW/FRANKFURT – Gas flowing through the Yamal Europe pipeline westbound to Germany has stopped and is now moving in the reverse direction towards Russia. This was according to data provided by Gascade, a German pipeline operator.

This is the second instance of sudden change in the flow of Russian gas through the major pipelines that transport it to western Europe. The halting westward flow of gas has caused benchmark European gas futures to rise by as high as 23% over the last week.

This latest change comes amid allegations from regional politicians about the Kremlin restraining supplies to press Germany and the European Union into approving the Nord Stream 2 pipe. The Nord Stream 2 is currently undergoing licensing processes in Germany.

Russia denied the claim and has promised to add westerly troops starting Nov. 8, once it’s stocks are replenished.

Gascade data from Saturday revealed that entry flows at Mallnow’s metering point had dropped to zero at 11:00 GMT after they were in this condition for three hour, having stood at more than 3,000,000 kilowatthours (kWh), since Thursday.

The data revealed that the exit flows at Mallnow, or the requests for gas transport to Poland from Germany stood at 1,442,934kWh/hour during the second hour.

The flow of people into Germany from Mallnow in Poland, near the border with Germany, was stopped last Saturday. They were resumed only on Thursday.

PGNiG, a spokesperson for the Polish gas company PGNiG stated that Poland is receiving gas in both directions.

Everything is perfect from our point. According to a spokesperson, the contract with Gazprom is currently being executed.

Russia said that its main focus is on replenishing its own domestic reserves before it releases any gas to Europe. The Russian government expects to complete its own replenishment by November 8.

Gaz-System Poland, Gascade Germany manage the Yamal flows and determine their direction based upon customer’s requests. According to one analyst, the reverse flow was due to Poland’s demand given its high oil prices and limited supply of liquefied gas (LNG)

PGNiG has a deal with Gazprom for gas supply of approximately 10 billion cubic meters (bcm), per annum, of which 8.7 bcm are under a take or pay agreement.

Traders have stated that if there’s a possibility to purchase cheaper gas from West Europe and Poland has purchased enough gas in accordance with Gazprom’s agreement, then it could switch to West-bound deliveries.