Russia RESTARTS Nord Stream 1 gas exports on schedule after maintenance despite Europe’s fears Putin would keep the taps turned off
- Major Russian gas pipeline restarts exports into Germany after maintenance
- Relieved European leaders had feared Putin would not turn it back on
- Energy is major weapon in economic war waged between Russia and West
- Gas deliveries from Gazprom have been down 40 per cent since last month
Months of brinkmanship over whether Vladimir Putin would pull the plug on energy exports into Germany appear to have ended without drama as the main gas pipeline into the European Union came back on line.
Gas flows via the Nord Stream 1, the main pipeline between Russia and Germany, were seen restarting on time on Thursday after the completion of the scheduled maintenance work, two sources familiar with the export plans said.
Relieved experts had feared it would remain offline after it shut down on July 11 as Putin twisted the knife in the economic war being waged between Russia and the European Union.
Even in the height of a summer heatwave, it is necessary to start filling gas storage for the upcoming winter as analysts fear electricity rationing and soaring gas bills.
However, anonymous sources said the pipeline was expected to resume operation at less than its capacity of some 160 million cubic metres (mcm) per day.
Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom, which operates the pipeline, halted flows of natural gas to Germany – which it sees as vital for its industry – for ten days amid acute tensions between the European Union and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
Other pipelines, running through Poland and Ukraine, are not being used as alternative links to send gas as they were in past years during the temporary shutdown, Germany’s pipeline regulator said.
Months of brinkmanship over whether Vladimir Putin would pull the plug on energy exports into Germany appear to have ended without drama as the main gas pipeline into the European Union came back on line
Pictured: The receiving station for the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline on July 11, near Lubmin, Germany
The major pipelines running from Russia to the European Union. Nord Stream 1 runs from Russia through Belarus, Poland and from there into Germany
Nord Stream 1 accounts for more than a third of Russian natural gas exports to the European Union, and Gazprom cut gas exports through the route to 40 per cent capacity last month.
The official reason cited for this was delays in the return of a turbine Siemens Energy was servicing in Canada.
A furious Kyiv viewed the return of the turbine as a violation of sanctions against Russia, which will enable the mammoth country to continue accruing enormous revenues from its natural gas exports.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing European Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn, that the European Commission did not expect the pipeline to restart after the maintenance.
‘They (Gazprom) will return to the levels seen before July 11,’ one of the sources said of the gas volumes expected via Nord Stream 1 from Thursday.
Last week, Gazprom sent a letter to customers in Europe explaining that it could not guarantee the supply of natural gas, declaring force majeure on supplies, starting from 14 June.
Known as an ‘act of God’ clause, a force majeure clause is standard in business contracts and spells out extreme circumstances that excuse a party from their legal obligations.
The Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the situation, that Canada had sent the turbine to Germany by plane on July 17 after repair work had been completed.
One of the sources said the turbine was unlikely to be re-installed by July 21. Gazprom and Nord Stream 1 had not replied to requests for comments on Tuesday.
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