The Nord Stream gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany restarted Thursday after ten days of maintenance, the eponymous company managing the equipment told AFP. “It works,” a spokesman for Nord Stream told AFP, without specifying how much gas was being delivered. The actual data will be known later today. The German government feared that this pipeline would not be reopened by Moscow after the work started on July 11. According to data transmitted by Gazprom to Gascade, the German network operator, the pipeline should deliver 530 GWh during the day.
This is only “30%” of its capacity, German Network Agency President Klaus Müller remarked on Twitter on Thursday. It would also be ten points less than before the work. Arguing that there is no turbine under maintenance in Canada, Gazprom has already reduced deliveries via Nord Stream to 40% of capacity since mid-June.
Die #Gas-Nomination of #NordStream1 for today it has remained at approx. 530 GWh/d (= approx. 30% utilization). It is binding for the next 2 hours, changes during the day would be very unusual. The initial nomination for 22.7. takes place in the afternoon. @bnetzahttps://t.co/itMR5TL6bB
— Klaus Müller (@Klaus_Mueller) July 21, 2022
The Russian gas giant Gazprom had assured that it could not guarantee the resumption of deliveries via this gas pipeline under maintenance until Thursday morning. The group invoked the absence of this turbine, necessary according to the company to operate a compressor station. A “pretext”, according to Berlin, which denounces “political” decisions.
End of suspense
Germany was therefore suspended from Moscow’s decision to restart the pipeline, after this long-planned maintenance work. The Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile blew hot and cold on the prospects for Nord Stream in the coming weeks.
He hinted that the pipeline could restart on Thursday morning, but that if Russia did not receive the missing turbine, it would be running at 20% capacity as early as next week. Because, according to the Russian president, a second turbine must in turn be subject to maintenance at the end of July.
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