On Saturday, Russia’s Gazprom said Siemens was ready to repair the Nord Stream 1 pipeline but there was nowhere available to do so, a claim Siemens denied and said it had not been asked to do so.
Gazprom’s announcement came a day after it said it would not resume gas supply to Germany via Nord Stream 1 until an oil leak in a turbine was repaired. It stated that the repairs could only be performed in a specially equipped workshop. Read More
The Kremlin has blamed Western sanctions for delaying Nord Stream 1 and impeding routine maintenance work. Western officials have denied this claim, and Siemens Energy has stated that sanctions do not preclude maintenance.
Prior to the most recent round of maintenance, Gazprom had already reduced flows to less than 20% of the pipeline’s capacity.
“Siemens is participating in repair work in accordance with the current contract, detecting flaws… and is prepared to repair the oil leaks. Only there is no place to repair it “On Saturday, Gazprom issued a statement via its Telegram channel.
Siemens Energy stated that it had not been commissioned to perform the work but was available and that the leak reported by Gazprom did not normally affect turbine operation and could be sealed on site.
“Regardless, we have already stated several times that there are enough additional turbines available in the Portovaya compressor station for Nord Stream 1 to operate,” a company spokesperson said.
Nord Stream 1 flows were set to resume early Saturday morning. However, just hours before it was scheduled to begin pumping gas, Gazprom published a photo on Friday of what it claimed was an oil leak on Nord Stream 1 equipment.
Siemens Energy, which supplies and maintains equipment at the Nord Stream 1 compressor station in Portovaya, said on Friday that the leak did not constitute a technical reason to halt gas flows.
Europe has accused Russia of using gas supplies as a weapon in a “economic war” with the West over the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
When asked about the halt on Saturday, Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said the EU expects Russia to honor its energy contracts but is prepared to meet the challenge if Moscow does not.
According to the German network regulator, the country’s gas supply is currently guaranteed, but the situation is tense and further deterioration cannot be ruled out.
The Federal Network Agency stated in its daily gas situation report, “The defects alleged by the Russian side are not a technical reason for the halt of operations.”
