Advertisement

Russia's Gazprom halts pipeline gas flow to Germany

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Russia's Gazprom halts pipeline gas flow to Germany
Pipe systems and shut-off devices at the gas receiving station of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline in northern Germany. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Stefan Sauer

Russian energy giant Gazprom suspended gas deliveries to Germany for maintenance on a major pipeline on Wednesday, the latest in a series of supply halts that have fuelled an energy crisis in Europe.

Advertisement

Gazprom said supplies via Nord Stream 1 were "completely stopped" for "preventative work" at a compressor unit, shortly after the the pipeline's operator, ENTSOG, announced that deliveries had stopped.

The move comes as European countries have faced soaring energy prices since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February and subsequently curbed its gas deliveries to the region.

Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, has accused Moscow of using energy as a "weapon".

But Gazprom has said the three-day maintenance work was "necessary" and had to be be carried out after "every 1,000 hours of operation".

Germany's Federal Network Agency chief Klaus Müller has called it a "technically incomprehensible" decision, warning that it was likely justt a pretext by Moscow to wield energy supplies as a threat.

READ ALSO: Germany in 'better position' to counter Russian gas threat, says Scholz

Experience shows that Moscow "makes a political decision after every so-called maintenance", he said, adding that "we'll only know at the beginning of September if Russia does that again".

Advertisement

'Much better position'

With winter around the corner, European consumers are staring down the barrel of huge power bills. Some countries like France have warned that rationing is a possibility.

The European Union is preparing to take emergency action to reform the electricity market in order to bring galloping prices under control, with energy ministers scheduled to hold extraordinary talks next week.

Asked if gas supplies would resume after the three-day works were completed on Saturday, Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "there is a guarantee that, apart from technical problems caused by sanctions, nothing interferes with supplies".

Western capitals "have imposed sanctions against Russia, which do not allow for normal maintenance, repair work", he added, in what appeared to hint at a replay of an earlier round of start-stop rigmarole.

Gazprom had already carried out 10 days of long-scheduled maintenance works in July. While it restored gas flows following the works, it drastically dwindled supplies just days later, claiming a technical issue on a turbine.

The Russian company insists that a key turbine could not be sent to Russia because of sanctions on Moscow. But Germany, where the turbine was located, has said Moscow was itself in fact blocking the turbine's delivery to Russia.

An official at Gascade, which operates the distribution network within Germany, also viewed Gazprom's latest actions sceptically.

"In July, it was regular maintenance planned for a long time by Nord Stream 1, this time it was not planned and we don't know what is behind this operation," the official said on condition of anonymity.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also