[Archelaos]

The German government is subsidising gas consumption by industry very heavily at the moment to prevent this.

A press release on the relevant legislation can be found here (in German): https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/energieprei...

The most important section in this matter reads in English translation as follows:

"From January 2023, industrial customers will receive 70% of their natural gas consumption in 2021 from their suppliers at a guaranteed 7 cents per kilowatt hour. For heat consumption, the price will be capped at 7.5 cents per kilowatt hour, also for 70% of consumption in 2021. For the remaining consumption, industry will pay the regular market price."

[nradov]

Right but that level of subsidization is unsustainable. What is the end game? Cheap Russian natural gas is unlikely to return soon enough to save the German chemicals industry.

[Archelaos]

Since the beginning of the year, the wholesale gas price in Europe has already returned to the level seen before the Russian-Ukrainian war.

See: https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Gasversorgung/aktuelle_g... (in German)