Natural Gas in Cold War Europe: The Making of a Critical Infrastructure

Abstract

On January 1, 2006, Russian gas company Gazprom hastily decided to interrupt its delivery of natural gas to neighboring Ukraine. During a few dramatic days the Russian move raised concerns in large parts of Europe, since the interruption to Ukraine also had a direct effect on the gas supply to countries located further downstream the same pipeline. On January 2, gas companies in Hungary Slovakia, and Austria reported a drastic drop in pressure — at a time of peak winter demand for natural gas. The crisis threatened the steady supply of electricity and heat to a vast number of industrial enterprises, power plants, hospitals, schools, households, and other gas users.