The war of nerves over gas between Russia and Europe is coming to a head. The Russian gas company Gazprom has questioned the continued operation of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline against the background of the repair of a necessary turbine in Canada. Gazprom has not yet received written confirmation that the repaired turbine from Canada will actually be delivered to Siemens, the company responsible for the installation, the Russian group said in a statement on Wednesday. “Under these circumstances” Gazprom cannot guarantee the future operation of the pipeline, the gas company said.
The turbine as a pretext
Referring to the defective turbine, Russia had already severely curtailed gas supplies via the Baltic Sea pipeline in mid-June. The turbine was then taken to a Siemens plant in Canada for repairs. Due to Canadian sanctions against Russia, it was initially not clear whether the device, which has since been repaired, can be returned.
However, the government in Ottawa gave the green light for the export over the weekend. The Siemens group announced that it would install the turbine as soon as possible. “Gazprom does not have a single document that allows Siemens to take the gas turbine engine that is currently being repaired in Canada out of the country,” the Russian company said.
According to European experts, this is of course just a pretext for the Russians to further curb gas supplies to Europe.
Despite maintenance of the pipeline and thus lower gas inflows, some gas was still stored in Austria on Monday. But the gas storage will be filled more slowly in the next few days, and “it is possible that gas will also be withdrawn on individual days,” said the Ministry of Climate Protection. The current demand can be covered, and hardly any gas is needed for electricity production.
After the shutdown of Nord Stream 1, Gazprom continues to pump its gas to Europe via Ukraine despite the war. However, the delivery volume agreed for Wednesday is 41.3 million cubic meters and thus not even half of the possible volume.
Source: Nachrichten
