According to German gas importer, Uniper, the country does not completely rule out gas rationing in the wake of Russia’s decision to permanently cease gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. It added that it is also thinking about taking legal action against Gazprom to make up for a 90% decline in the company’s market value as a result of a dramatic decrease in Russian gas supply since June.

“We cannot rule out that Germany might look at rationing gas as something that might have to be considered. We know that the government wants to avoid this as much as possible because that would be a disaster for so many reasons,” CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach to Reuters.

After Russia halted pumping via Nord Stream 1, a crucial supply line to the continent, gas prices in Europe rose 26% on Monday. Gazprom announced that it discovered an oil leak at a crucial pipeline turbine on Friday leading to the indefinite shutdown; citing Western sanctions and pledging to keep the pipeline offline until penalties were withdrawn.

After the G7 announced a plan to establish a cap on the price of Russian oil by December, Moscow retaliated by threatening to stop exporting oil to any nation that supports price restrictions.

But not only would the biggest economy in Europe be compelled to take drastic measures to protect its gas reserves, particularly during the impending winter. If the season proves to be more severe than anticipated, the remainder of the continent may be forced to do the same. Gas restriction will cost a lot because gas supply are already being partially stopped, which is harming European GDP momentum and casting a shadow over the future for the Eurozone.

In fact, it is predicted that the GDP of the Eurozone will increase by 2.4% in 2022 before declining to 1.3% in 2023. The biggest chemical manufacturer in the world, BASF, said it is constantly watching the natural gas markets and may need to reduce output.