Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom said it would further reduce gas flow through its Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Wednesday as it stopped another turbine for repairs.
It comes a few days after Gazprom Gas deliveries resume Through the pipeline, a Vital artery Connecting Russia’s vast gas reserves to Europe via Germany. The pipeline was closed 10 days for scheduled maintenance, and many feared that Russia would not resume deliveries once the work was completed.
Gazprom shuts down another Siemens gas turbine in Portovaya [compressor station]The Russian company said in a statement on Monday, citing “the technical condition of the relevant machine.”
The head of Germany’s gas regulator, Klaus Muller, confirmed the move in a tweet on Monday.
The German Economy Ministry insisted in a tweet on Monday, “According to our information, there is no technical reason to reduce gas shipments via Nord Stream 1”.
“If shipments of Russian gas via Nord Stream 1 continue at such a low level, a storage level of 95% by November is hardly achievable without additional measures,” the German regulatory office for gas and electricity said in a statement on Monday.
The German Economy Minister Robert Habeck had earlier called on the Germans to reduce gas consumption in order to have gas storage facilities as much as possible for the winter.
Rising prices: Current German gas stocks total 65.9%, according to daily figures provided by the government.
The gas cuts via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will also affect the transportation of gas to other European countries such as France, Austria and the Czech Republic.
The German regulatory office said wholesale prices rose significantly as a result of lower gas supplies and recently stabilized at a higher level, warning that “businesses and private consumers should prepare for significantly higher gas prices.”
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline supplies 55 billion cubic meters of gas annually, or approximately 40% of the pipeline’s total imports from Russia.
Russia’s response: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that a repaired gas turbine will be installed for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline after all technical measures have been fulfilled, after which it will resume gas flows to Europe “to the extent technically possible”.
Peskov insisted that issues related to gas supplies had nothing to do with politics.
There is no policy here. These are the consequences of the restrictions imposed by the Europeans themselves, and the Europeans themselves suffer from these restrictions,” adding that Russia does not want Europe to abandon Russian gas.
He said Moscow would remain a “reliable gas supplier”.
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