Habeck's "nightmare scenario" threatens: Gazprom speaks up - and considers the forecast "impossible"

Created: 07/16/2022, 04:49 am

By: Felix Durach

The Russian state-owned company Gazprom does not want to guarantee a resumption of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline.

© Igor Russak/dpa

With a view to the ongoing maintenance work on Nord Stream 1, the Russian gas company Gazprom is questioning the continued operation of the pipeline.

Moscow/Berlin - Is Germany now threatened with a further escalation of the gas crisis?

The Russian gas company Gazprom announced on Wednesday, among other things, in a statement published on Twitter that it could not guarantee the continued operation of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.

Gazprom: Nord Stream 1 throttled since June - Habeck doubted justification

As early as mid-June, Gazprom had throttled gas deliveries through the Baltic Sea pipeline to 40 percent of normal capacity.

The group referred to a defective turbine in the pipeline.

However, the federal government questioned the justification of the group for the throttling.

The measure is "obviously the strategy to unsettle and drive up prices," said Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens).

The turbine was then taken to a Siemens plant in Canada for repairs.

Due to Canadian sanctions against Russia, it was initially not clear whether the device, which has since been repaired, can be returned.

At the weekend, however, confirmation came from Ottawa that the spare part could be delivered.

Gazprom does not want to guarantee operation of Nord Stream 1 – forecast “impossible”

However, Gazprom believes that the same turbine remains a problem. "Gazprom does not have any documents that would allow Siemens to bring the gas turbine engine for the Portovaya CS from Canada, where this engine is currently being repaired," the report says of the Russian state company.

"Under these circumstances, it seems impossible to draw an objective conclusion about further developments in terms of the safe operation of Portovaya CS, a facility of crucial importance for the Nord Stream gas pipeline," Gazprom adds.

Finally, since Monday, no gas has flowed through the pipeline at all.

Nord Stream 1 has been completely shut down for regular maintenance.

The work should take around ten days.

Even in the run-up to the maintenance, voices were raised questioning whether Russia would even resume the gas supply after the work.

Economics Minister Habeck had previously spoken of a possible "political nightmare scenario" for Germany.