The need for repairs has reduced the capacity of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to transport Russian gas to Europe by about 40 percent to 100 million cubic meters per day. This was announced by the Russian state gas company Gazprom.
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Gas is transported by pipeline from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, which is the main route for Russian gas exports to the European Union.
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Nord Stream 1 is usually able to carry 167 million cubic meters of gas per day. According to Gazprom, the reason for the capacity reduction is the delay in repair work, specifically the delay in the return of the equipment, which was sent to the German company Siemens for repair, Reuters reported.
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The main gas pipelines in Europe.
According to the agency, the price of gas in Europe, specifically in the Dutch TTF node Bloomberg growth of 13 percent. Fortunately, the announcement came at a time when European countries were filling their underground storage tanks in anticipation of similar difficulties.
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This also applies to the Czech Republic, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Czech capacities began to be filled in April, two weeks ago they were filled to about 54 percent of the total of about 3.2 billion cubic meters.
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It will completely lose gas from the EU’s most important pipeline between July 11 and 21, when, according to Reuters, a complete technical shutdown should take place. According to the head of the German gas pipeline network, Klaus Müller, this means, among other things, that Germany will stop filling its storage tanks at this time – the country had almost 53 percent full last Friday.
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“This is serious news because Nord Stream 1 is the main route. On the other hand, it would be premature to talk about whether it is a non-fulfillment of obligations for countries such as Germany, but also the Czechia, “comments Jiří Gavor, director of the Association of Independent Energy Vendors, on SZ Business.
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According to him, the capacity shortage via Nord Stream 1 can be covered by the traditional route through Ukraine. This is not a situation where the transport route with the impossibility of replacement deliveries would be physically missing. According to Gavor, another option is a physically accessible Polish route. “However, I do not expect it to be used, as Gazprom has announced that it will not use this route due to the legislation of the Russian government,” adds Gavor.
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According to Gavor, Gazprom still has options for supplying Northwestern and Central Europe. “For our region, it is Nord Stream 1 with reduced capacity and then also the Ukrainian gas pipeline. In any case, Gazprom is constantly striving to maintain its commitment to long-term contractual obligations. I think he will try to keep this position, just by combining the remaining capacity of Nord Stream 1 and possibly adding via Ukraine, “says Gavor.
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“However, the situation may have an impact on gas stock prices, which have fallen favorably in recent days. However, Gazprom’s steps may bring prices higher again, and it is possible that this is what it is all about, “speculates the director of the Association of Independent Energy Vendors.
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At the end of April, Gazprom stopped gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. He justified his decision by saying that the local gas companies PGNiG and Bulgargaz refused to pay for gas in rubles. Later, Gazprom also stopped supplying raw materials to Finland and the Netherlands. He also stopped supplying gas to the Danish company Orsted and to the British company Shell Energy to Germany.
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Russia began demanding payments in its currency after the February invasion, when Western countries imposed sanctions on it, making most financial transactions between Russia and the West impossible. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that Moscow did not expect Gazprom to cut off gas supplies to other European customers. He added that the system that Moscow had created for customers to pay for Russian gas supplies in rubles was working as planned.
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The European Union is now frantically trying to get rid of its dependence on Russian gas, a task in Brussels that they would like to tackle as done in 2027 – which is very optimistic. Russia imports about 40 percent of its gas consumption into the EU, about 155 billion cubic meters flow through pipelines a year, and other Russian gas then flows to the EU in liquefied form in LNG tankers.
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LNG is to become one of the ways to reduce dependence on unpredictable Russia, but LNG terminals are missing, especially on the North and Baltic coasts, where both Germans and Poles are preparing to build.
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There is also a lack of infrastructure to enable the Union to operate as a single market – for example, in the Iberian Peninsula, LNG terminals have spare capacity, but their system does not have enough capacity to transport gas to central Europe. But the preparation was neglected by the Czechia, for example, the lack of a link to Poland Stork II.
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Finally, the LNG exporters themselves have a problem, because even with them, a sudden European hunger for their gas will mean billions in investments.
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In addition to gas, the EU is also betting on energy savings and renewable energy sources.
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