Maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline is scheduled to end tomorrow, Thursday. But even before maintenance work began, there was concern in Europe, both among politicians and experts, that Russia could limit or completely stop gas supplies to Europe, even after routinely planned work.
Even before maintenance work began, Gazprom cut the gas supply through the pipeline by 60%, driving up gas prices even further.
Gazprom: Turbine is essential for operation
According to Russian energy company Gazprom, the expected turbine from Canada is still missing, important for the Portovaya compression station (which compensates for the loss of pressure in gas transport) and therefore also essential for the operation of Nord Stream 1. This is reported by “Tagesschau”.
Russian newspaper Kommersant reports that the turbine was delivered from Canada to Germany on Sunday and that it could take another five to seven days for the turbine to reach Russia. If this assumption is correct, it is very likely that Nord Stream 1 operations cannot resume on Thursday.
How important is the turbine?
According to APA reports, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economy doubts the Gazprom Group’s claim that the turbine is essential for operation. “It’s a replacement turbine for use in September,” a ministry spokeswoman said. The missing turbine is “Russia’s pretext” to reduce gas supplies to Europe.
There was no technical reason to reduce delivery to 40 percent, she said. This turbine was not needed for this delivery. There is also no indication that the turbine is being used immediately.
Gazprom contractually obligated to supply gas
She assumes that after the pipeline is checked, the gas will fully flow again, the spokeswoman said. Gazprom is contractually obligated to supply gas, added deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Gazprom would “fulfill” its commitments. At the same time, however, he threatened to cut deliveries even further: if the turbine doesn’t reach Russia, only 30 million cubic meters of gas can be delivered a day, Putin said.
Gewessler: critical date for European gas supply
Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) also stressed that 21 July was a “critical date for gas supplies in Europe”. No one could have predicted whether deliveries would fully resume after maintenance work.
However, Nord Stream 1 would only play a subordinate role for direct gas deliveries to Austria. “Austria is mainly supplied via the gas pipeline system via Ukraine. However, due to the total loss of supply via Nord Stream 1 due to maintenance work, a significant drop in supply is also expected in Austria,” said the Energy Minister. .
Gas deliveries were announced
Gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline were announced for Thursday after the end of routine maintenance. This emerges from preliminary data from the German company Gascade on Wednesday afternoon. Gascade operates the two Nord Stream 1 reception points in Lubmin (West Pomerania), Germany. According to the Gascade website, gas deliveries are reserved for both points.
A spokeswoman for Gascade had previously explained that these reserves – so-called nominations – are a prerequisite for transporting significant quantities. However, records may still change until just before the actual delivery.