As the war in Ukraine reaches a stalemate, the Russians have seemed to have halted gas supplies to the European Union over their support for Ukraine.
The Nord Stream gas pipeline runs from the coast of Russia near St. Petersburg to northeastern Germany and has a daily capacity of 170 million cubic metres and now has completely shut off the transportation of gas to Germany.
Berlin and Moscow were building the Nord Stream 2 which would run parallel to the existing pipeline and will have a capacity of 55 billion cubic metres, doubling the existing gas supply.
The pipeline is owned and operated by the company Nord Stream AG, whose majority owner is the Russian gas-producing giant Gazprom. Grazprom has cited maintenance as the cause of the shutdown of the pipeline.
The Russian gas company stated that a fault had been detected in the Portovaya compressor station, with the inspection carried out alongside workers from Siemens, the German firm that maintains the turbine.
It claimed that only specialised workshops which had been constrained by Western sanctions could repair oil leaks in major engines.
However, Siemens itself said: “Such leaks do not normally affect the operation of a turbine and can be sealed on site. It is a routine procedure within the scope of maintenance work.”
Moscow has substantially reduced the supply of gas to Europe since the war in Ukraine started, however, this is the first time the supplies have been completely cut-off.
The European Union fears that Moscow’s move of shutting down gas supplies will lead to gas prices becoming unaffordable for heating in the upcoming winter.
EU Council President Charles Michel said the Russian move was “sadly no surprise”.
“Use of gas as a weapon will not change the resolve of the EU. We will accelerate our path towards energy independence. Our duty is to protect our citizens and support the freedom of Ukraine,” he tweeted.
The gas supply cuts have led to energy costs to soar with businesses and common consumers paying high prices.
Most of Europe is heavily reliant on Russian gas for heating and generating energy, we saw Germany filling up its gas supplies rapidly. Germany has filled around 85% of its storage.
The goal to reach 95% by November 1 looks bleak.
The timing of the cuts is rather interesting as it comes shortly as G7 nations (US, UK, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, Japan) have decided to cap the price of Russian gas.
