This week, Nord Stream flows were halted for three days.
Deliveries were scheduled to resume at 0100 GMT on Saturday.
Russia blames pipeline disruptions on sanctions.
According to Brussels, Moscow is using gas as an economic weapon.
After discovering faults in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline during maintenance, Russia has postponed a Saturday deadline to resume flows via a major gas supply route to Germany, compounding Europe’s difficulties in securing winter fuel.
Nord Stream 1, which runs beneath the Baltic Sea, was scheduled to reopen at 0100 GMT on Saturday after a three-day maintenance shutdown.
However, Gazprom, the state-owned company with a monopoly on Russian gas exports via pipeline, said on Friday that deliveries could not be resumed safely until an oil leak in a critical turbine was repaired. It did not provide a new timetable.
However, Siemens Energy, which normally services Nord Stream 1 turbines, stated that a leak of this magnitude should not prevent the pipeline from operating. It also stated that the Portovaya compressor station, where the leak was discovered, has additional turbines that Nord Stream can use to continue operations.
“Such leaks usually have no effect on turbine operation and can be repaired on-site. It is a routine procedure performed as part of routine maintenance work “According to the company.
Moscow has blamed sanctions imposed by the West following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for impeding Nord Stream 1’s routine operations and maintenance. According to Brussels, this is a ruse, and Russia is retaliating by using gas as an economic weapon.
“This is part of Russia’s psychological war against us,” Michael Roth, chair of the German parliament’s foreign affairs committee, tweeted.
Siemens Energy stated that it is not currently contracted to perform line maintenance but is on standby.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s chief, previously stated that the EU should impose a price cap on Russian pipeline gas to counteract President Vladimir Putin’s market manipulation.
Russia has denied using gas as an economic weapon or manipulating the gas market in the past.
The United States and Europe were working together to ensure adequate energy supplies, according to a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council on Friday.
“It is regrettable that Russia continues to use energy as a weapon against European consumers,” the spokesperson added.
Since August 2021, wholesale gas prices have increased 400%, harming European industry and households as demand recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis.
“We see that the electricity market no longer works because it has been massively disrupted by Putin’s manipulations,” Von der Leyen said, adding that a price cap on Russian pipeline supplies could be proposed at the European level.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated that if Brussels imposed such a cap, Moscow would cut off supplies to Europe.
“There will simply be no Russian gas in Europe,” he responded to Von der Leyen on the Telegram app.
Reduced Nord Stream deliveries, combined with lower gas flows via Ukraine, another major route, have already left European countries struggling to fill storage tanks for winter, prompting many to activate emergency plans that could lead to energy rationing and fuel recession fears.
On Twitter, European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer stated that Gazprom had shut down Nord Stream 1 under “fallacious pretenses.” “It’s also evidence of Russia’s cynicism, as it prefers to flare gas rather than honor contracts.”
On Friday, the Group of Seven finance ministers agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil exports. Moscow said it would suspend oil sales to countries that imposed the cap, claiming that the move would destabilize the oil market. Russia is the world’s largest crude and fuel exporter combined.
‘Better Prepared’
Germany’s network regulator said the country was better prepared to deal with a disruption in Russian supplies, but households and businesses would have to reduce energy consumption.
“It’s great that Germany is now better prepared, but now it’s up to everyone,” said Klaus Mueller, president of the Bundesnetzagentur, on Twitter.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, suggested earlier on Friday that there could be more disruptions to Nord Stream 1 deliveries.
“It is not Gazprom’s fault that the resources are unavailable. As a result, the overall system’s reliability is jeopardised “When asked if there would be more outages, he said no.
On Wednesday, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller stated that sanctions prevented Siemens from performing routine maintenance.
After Gazprom reduced flows in June and then again in July, EU governments have been preparing for the possibility that Russia will stop deliveries entirely.
The maintenance for this week was announced on short notice.
Germany, which relies heavily on Russian supplies, has been racing to fill its storage tanks before winter. That storage is now nearly 85% full, but Berlin warns that meeting a 95% target by November 1 will be difficult unless businesses and households use less fuel.
The EU has exceeded its 80% target for storage to be full by Oct. 1, ready for when heating usage increases, but this may not be enough to get Europe through the winter if Russia keeps the taps shut.
Some energy-intensive European companies, such as fertilizer and aluminum producers, have already reduced output due to skyrocketing power prices, while some domestic consumers have reduced consumption to save on rising energy bills.
