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Receiving station of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Lubmin: Parts are said to be missing
Photo:
Stefan Sauer / dpa
According to the energy company Gazprom, Russia is reducing gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline by a good 40 percent.
The group announced that only 100 million cubic meters of gas per day could be guaranteed instead of the usual 167 million cubic meters.
Reason are delays in repair work.
A gas compressor unit was not returned in time from repairs.
According to the company, compressors from Siemens are currently missing at the starting point of the pipeline.
Gazprom's statement did not make it clear whether Siemens AG was meant or whether it was Siemens Energy.
Siemens Energy was spun off a few years ago.
Siemens AG holds a 35 percent stake.
Both companies initially did not respond to a request.
Federal Network Agency warned of fewer deliveries due to maintenance
The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, reported on Monday about upcoming maintenance on Nord Stream 1.
"NorthStream 1 (meaning the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1, editor's note) will be serviced in the summer, so there will probably be no storage," Müller tweeted in response to a SPIEGEL article about the EU's still high gas imports -States from Russia.
The aim of the Europeans is to fill up their gas storage tanks to at least 80 or – as in Germany – even 90 percent before winter.
The EU reservoirs are currently 51 percent full on average, in Germany it is a few percentage points more.
Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe have fallen significantly since European sanctions against Moscow came into force because of the military intervention in Ukraine.
Gazprom also cut off supplies to several European customers because they refused to pay for the gas in rubles.
For Germany, Nord Stream 1 is the main supply pipeline with Russian gas.
The pipeline, which went into operation in 2011, runs from Vyborg in Russia northwest of St. Petersburg to Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
According to the operating company, 59.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas were exported from Russia to Europe through the pipeline in 2021.
On the German side, the project was pushed forward by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD), who ruled until 2005, and on the Russian side by President Vladimir Putin.
Nord Stream 1 is the only pipeline that runs directly from Russia to Germany, i.e. without transit countries.
A branch leads to the Czech Republic.
Gazprom has already stopped exporting gas to the west via the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which runs through Poland.
The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, which is well below plan, is also reduced.
Energy prices had already increased as a result of the previous restrictions, because overall less gas flows from Russia to Europe.
sol/AFP/Reuters
