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Europe will not receive gas from Russia at this time. Gazprom is keeping the important Nordstream I gas pipeline closed for the time being. An oil leak is mentioned as the reason.
The Nordstream pipeline was due to reopen on Saturday after maintenance. However, according to Gazprom, a leak was discovered during maintenance work it was carrying out with German Siemens at the Portovaya compressor station. The state-owned company subsequently ceased all gas exports to Europe. The oil leak can only be repaired at a specialized repair shop, Gazprom claims.
“According to information from Siemens, the complete elimination of oil leaks on these engines is possible only in a specialized repair shop,” writes Gazprom. The company says it sent a letter about the results to Christian Bruch, the German CEO of Siemens Energy.
The Nordstream I gas pipeline, approximately 1200 km long, connects Saint Petersburg via the Baltic Sea to Germany. The connection was opened in 2011 and can transport 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe at its maximum capacity. This makes the connection very important for European energy needs.
Jilles van den Beukel
@JillesApplescha
Drop in deliveries
This is not the first time that Russia has halted gas transport via Nordstream I. Previously, this happened for ten days in July, according to Gazprom, due to maintenance of a major gas turbine in Canada. . The Canadians later refused to release the turbine due to sanctions against Russia. Moscow claimed to have no alternative.
However, according to Germany, Russia is using the gas connection as geopolitical leverage over Western Europe. Since the Russians invaded Ukraine on February 24, Gazprom has sharply cut its supplies in stages. Since the end of July, only a fifth of the maximum gas capacity has passed through it. The period before that was 40%.
It is expected that Russia will continue to use Nordstream in the coming months to limit its energy supply to Europe. Any news of potential cuts or closures sends gas prices skyrocketing. As a result, European citizens and businesses are seeing their energy costs increase further.
not responsible
Russia denies the allegations and continues to talk about maintenance or other flaws at Nordstream. Even now, Moscow claims that Gazprom “is not responsible for the fact that the reliability of the line across the Baltic Sea is in danger,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency. Interfax this afternoon.
There are no technical reserves, he believes. “Only one turbine is running,” he answered a reporter’s question about possible further outages.
A Nordstream 2 pipeline was also built. However, this second link between Russia and Europe, costing more than 11 billion euros, has not yet been put into service. Germany refuses to certify the line and abandons the project on February 22, two days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Today, Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the Russian Parliament, said Europe had two choices. “The first is the lifting of illegal sanctions against our country and the launch of Nord Stream 2,” he told Telegram. “The second is to leave everything as it is, which will cause problems in the economy and make life even more difficult for citizens.”
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