The SGT-A35 turbine required for the full operation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and the Portovaya pumping station is currently located in Germany. This was reported by the German television channel NTV.
On Wednesday, 3 August, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Siemens Energy’s production facility in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Westphalia. There he should inspect the turbine.
“[Шольц] Together with our CEO, Christian Bruch, he will oversee a turbine serviced in Canada for the Nord Stream gas pipeline ready to be transported to Russia.”
– Reuters publishes an excerpt from an invitation to an event from Siemens Energy.
As early as August 1, a German government spokesman said he could not tell the exact location of the turbine. “The turbine is in place, I don’t know its physical location,” Wolfgang Buechner, deputy spokesman for the German Cabinet, told a briefing in Berlin.
After the planned maintenance, the joint venture resumed its activities on 21 July. Prior to the repair, pumping continued at 40% of the daily capacity of approximately 170 million cubic meters in June.
Since July 27, Nord Stream has been operating at around 20% of its maximum capacity due to the shutdown of another turbine.
Gazprom has announced the limitation on delays in the return of gas pumping units (GCUs) used to supply gas to the pipeline and sent abroad for repair. “Only one of the six gas pumping units and a hot reserve of the same capacity are operating. This is largely related to Siemens motors with a capacity of 54 MW each.”
European politicians periodically point out that the real reason for the decrease in Russian gas supply cannot be problems with the turbines. On June 15, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had accepted German Economy Minister Robert Habek’s assessment of the situation regarding the reduction in gas supply through the Nord Stream pipeline.
Khabek had previously called the causes political. “Chancellor Scholz is following the assessment of the relevant Minister of Economy and Climate on this matter,” Hebestreit said.
But the Russian side claims that the situation with the turbines is due to technical reasons. At the same time, the turbine’s rotation was stopped due to Canada’s sanctions policy.
“A car needs repairs, it’s planned. Although this is a Siemens factory, Gazprom is not returned from Canada because of sanctions. I’ll tell you why Canada did this. “Because it produces oil and gas itself and plans to develop the European market,” he said.
One of the mechanisms was made in Canada by Siemens Energy and was previously sent to Montreal for repair. Due to Ottawa’s sanctions against the Russian Federation, the manufacturer initially refused to return the repaired equipment to Germany, but after numerous requests from Germany, he still decided to return the turbine.
Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov told reporters that he did not know about the location of the Nord Stream turbine. He also pointed out that such information should be transmitted to Gazprom.
On July 21, Reuters noted that it could take several days or weeks for the turbine to return. The timing of the delivery is still unknown. The agency claims that the Nord Stream turbine was stuck on its way to Germany because the Russian Federation did not allow it to be transported back.