OREANDA-NEWS. Europe, short of natural gas, is asking Russia for more coal, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

Gas prices in Europe have risen significantly recently. Today the price of November gas futures according to the Dutch TTF index, the most liquid European hub, has broken another record and reaches $ 1,073 per thousand cubic meters after the opening of trading.

"Electricity producers on the continent are forced to ask Russia for more coal to ease the energy crisis as winter approaches and record high gas prices, which are dampening profitability," representatives of two Russian coal companies told the agency.

Europe has largely ditched coal over the years in an effort to “green” power generation, sources say, but is now experiencing a supply crisis.

According to the press secretary of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, cited by the agency, nevertheless, the export of coal, including for the production of electricity to Europe, according to forecasts, will not change this year and will amount to about 48 million tons. In the first half of the year, it grew by 2.4% to 22.5 million tons.

"If all European utilities switch to coal, it will lead to a huge increase in demand for coal, which Russia alone cannot provide in such a short time," chief analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. told the agency in Houston Natasha Tyrina. According to her, Europe will need supplies from other countries, for example, from the United States, but the situation there is similar.