Gazprom will shut down another gas turbine engine at the Portovaya compressor station. In this regard, the flow through Nord Stream will be reduced by half and will constitute only 20% of the planned capacity of the gas pipeline.
In connection with the expiration of the period between overhauls before the revision (in accordance with the instructions of Rostekhnadzor and taking into account the technical condition of the engine), Gazprom stops the operation of another Siemens gas turbine engine at Portovaya CS,” the holding said.
The daily capacity of the Portovaya station will be reduced to 33 million cubic meters from July 27 at 07:00 Moscow time. mm per day from the current 67 million cubic meters
Against the background of these news, gas stock prices in Europe rose sharply by 12% and exceeded $1,890 per thousand cubic meters.
The German Ministry of Economy says “there is no technical reason for the reduction in supply”, while Siemens Energy claims that it does not see a connection between the turbine required for the gas pipeline to function fully and the power outage. in gas sources.
“Maintenance of our turbines has been and continues to be routine,” the company said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of this development last week. He said another turbine would be sent for repair at the end of July.
Problems at the station
Problems began in June in the operation of the Portovaya compressor station, which transports gas via Nord Stream.
On 14 and 15 June, it was learned that the first two and then another gas compressor unit serving Nord Stream were shut down.
Gazprom said that this was due, among other things, to delays in the work of Siemens, which was not able to return the turbine required for operation from Canada on time. Siemens explained this with sanctions: One of the turbines was being repaired in Canada and was blocked when Ottawa imposed sanctions on Russia.
Gas pumping via Nord Stream has been reduced to 67 million cubic meters. m per day Thus, since mid-June, fuel has been pumped through the gas pipeline at 40% of the planned volume.
From July 11 to July 21, Russia completely cut off gas supply through the Nord Stream during the maintenance period.
Turbine return from Canada
Germany, which bought gas from Nord Stream in July, had Canada returned the turbine to Gazprom after long negotiations. Ottawa also allowed five more units to be repaired and then returned to Russia within two years. At the same time, Canada will only accept and return turbines through Germany.
On July 17, it became known that the Canadian side was sending equipment to Germany. On July 21, Berlin confirmed that it had received the turbine from Ottawa.
It was supposed to be sent to Russia on July 23, but this was not possible. Reuters, citing sources, claimed that Russia did not accept its shipment.
Siemens Energy said that German authorities had provided all the necessary documents to ship the turbine to Russia earlier last week, but there were not enough customs documents to import the unit into the Russian Federation.
Stating that Gazprom is obliged to submit documents as a customer, the company said, “Turbine transportation can start immediately.”
On July 24, it was learned that an export license issued by Canada was transferred to Gazprom by Siemens Energy. It will make it possible to repair and transport gas turbines for Nord Stream by the end of 2024.
On July 25, Gazprom confirmed from Canadian authorities that they had received and examined turbines-related documents for Nord Stream from Siemens. At the same time, they noted that the documents did not eliminate pre-identified risks and raised additional questions. The company noted that questions remain regarding EU and UK sanctions, which are particularly important for the delivery of the engine to Russia and the urgent overhaul of other gas turbine engines for the Portovaya compressor station.
The future of gas supply
The Kremlin reported that after the installation of the turbine returning from the repair, the gas will be pumped from Nord Stream to the extent technologically possible.
“We know we still have problems with other units that Siemens knows very well. But of course, the turbine will be installed after all the formalities and similar technological processes are completed. And the pumping will continue to the extent technologically possible, ”said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the president.
He also sought the words of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Russia is an unreliable gas supplier that contradicts reality.
“Even in the most difficult moments, the Russian side continued to fulfill its obligations. And the fact that there is now a decrease in the volume of deliveries is due to the illegal restrictions imposed by the Europeans themselves, especially the FRG, ”said the author.
Scholz had previously expressed the view that gas supplies from the Russian Federation should not be trusted.
“There are several pipelines reaching Germany, whether it’s one through Ukraine, through Yamal to Europe, or through the Nord Stream, some capacity will always be enough to meet Russia’s supply obligations,” the Chancellor said.
Scholz described Moscow’s claims that gas supplies were cut off for technical reasons as “convincing”.
“Technically, it would never be a problem to meet all the obligations of the supplier, which is owned by Russia,” said the head of the German government, and urged European states to adopt measures to reduce gas consumption.
The Nord Stream gas pipeline was commissioned in 2011. Its total length is 1,224 km, and its capacity is 55 billion cubic meters. m gas per year.