Gazprom said it would stop the operation of another Siemens gas turbine at the Nord Stream 1 compressor station in Portovaya, in accordance with instructions from the relevant watchdog, taking into account the technical condition of the engine. For this reason, shipments as of yesterday morning will be reduced to only 33 million cubic meters per day. This represents half of the current flows, which are already at 40% of their normal capacity.
damages
European politicians have repeatedly warned that Russia could cut off gas flows this winter, a move that would push Germany into recession and cause prices to rise for consumers already grappling with higher gas prices. food and energy. Germany was forced last week to bail out Uniper, its biggest gas importer from Russia.
The eurozone recorded year-on-year inflation of 8.6% in June, an unprecedented level, which forced the European Central Bank (ECB) to interrupt its policy of zero rates, in force since 2011, and decide last week on an increase of 50 basic points that would be continued in future meetings.
Gazprom has “no technical reason” to make this cut, the German Ministry of Economy immediately denounced.
“According to our information, there is no technical reason to reduce deliveries,” a ministry spokeswoman told AFP. The Russian group justified the cut by the need for maintenance of a gas pipeline turbine, which connects Russia with Germany.
Caveat
President Vladimir Putin has warned the West that continued sanctions could lead to a catastrophic rise in energy prices for consumers around the world. The Russian president, in fact, foreshadowed a further cut in shipments in his comments on a stalled Nord Stream 1 compressor last week, saying: “There are two machines running, pumping 60 million cubic meters a day. If one is not returned, another will remain, which is 30 million cubic meters.”
Russia is the world’s second largest exporter of oil, after Saudi Arabia, and the world’s largest exporter of natural gas. Europe imports about 40% of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia.
Gazprom resumed supply via Nord Stream 1 last week after a ten-day maintenance break, but only at 40% of the pipeline’s capacity.
Explanation
Russia has said it was forced to cut the volume of gas to that level last month because Western sanctions were delaying the return of the turbine from Canada.
European politicians have disputed that explanation, with Germany saying the turbine in question was not to be used until September.
Gazprom said yesterday that it had received reports from Siemens Energy and Canada about the first turbine, but added that problems remained. “Gazprom has studied the reports, but has to recognize that they do not eliminate previously identified risks and raise additional questions,” he said in a statement.
“Furthermore, there are still open questions from Gazprom regarding the EU and UK sanctions, the resolution of which is important for the delivery of the engine to Russia and the urgent overhaul of other gas turbine engines for the compressor station. Portovaya,” he added. Thus, the company will cut the current volume in half.
The Kremlin had said it was not interested in a total cutoff of Russian gas supplies to Europe, which is rushing to fill its underground stores before winter.
He also said that Gazprom was not to blame for the storage risks, reiterating his line that the Europeans are suffering the consequences of the sanctions they themselves imposed against Russia.
Source: Ambito
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