Gazprom said on its Telegram channel that due to a series of leaks in the Nord Stream turbine and a warning from Rostekhnadzor, the company had to shut down the gas pipeline indefinitely until the faults were fixed. The Kremlin previously warned that the reliability of the pipeline is at risk due to the lack of reserves – only one turbine is working.
Following a preventive shutdown, Russian gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream were scheduled to resume at 20% of planned capacity on September 3, 2022.
“A warning was received from Rostekhnadzor that the detected damage does not allow the safe operation of the gas turbine engine. It is necessary to take appropriate measures regarding the detected serious violations and to stop the operation of the Trent 60 gas compressor unit.
There clarifiedWhen some leaks were detected in the turbine, Siemens employees who were present during the inspection confirmed the damage and signed the report. In total, three defects were found that made further safe gas passage impossible.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the reliable operation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system is under threat. When asked by a journalist whether new repairs to the gas pipeline are expected in the near future, Peskov recalled that a turbine is currently operating:
“There is no technical reserve, a turbine is running. So think about it. No reservation is made without Gazprom’s fault. Therefore, the reliable operation of the entire system is at risk.
“Time came”
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, shortly before Nord Stream was shut down stated On the possibility of introducing a ceiling price for the supply of Russian pipeline gas to Europe.
“I firmly believe it’s time to limit the price of Russian pipeline gas going to Europe,” he said.
The European Commission also acknowledged that gas prices in the European Union will remain at record levels for a very long time, at least until 2025.
The EC head’s statement was commented on by Russian Security Council Vice-President Dmitry Medvedev on his Telegram channel, saying that Europe would likely be completely deprived of Russian gas.
On September 1, German Chancellor Scholz during a meeting with German residents of Essen rejected The possibility of stopping the import of Russian gas.
“We can say that we will overcome this situation (with the gas supply issue). However, it will be more difficult to do so if we reject what comes from Russia, albeit in small quantities. We shouldn’t complicate our lives unnecessarily, that’s my personal opinion,” Scholz stressed.
The Chancellor explained his confidence in Germany’s ability to recover from the energy crisis by the fact that Berlin “taken in time to fill Germany’s gas storage facilities, build coal-fired power plants and build LNG terminals”.
“Expulsion of Russian oil”
At the same time, on September 2, the finance ministers of the G7 member states agreed to impose a ceiling on Russian oil prices. The marginal fuel price will be disclosed to the public “openly and transparently” and will be revised according to technical data. The main purpose of the price ceiling will be to “reduce Russia’s income and ability to finance” a special operation in Ukraine, therefore absolutely all countries are invited to contribute to the establishment of a new mechanism.
We reaffirm our common political intention to finalize and implement a comprehensive global ban on maritime transport services for crude oil and oil products of Russian origin. “The provision of such services will only be permitted if oil is purchased at or below a ceiling price set by a broad coalition of states willing to agree to the price cap,” the G7 said in a statement.
The ceiling price initially selected based on technical data may be revised later. The G7 countries will also develop mechanisms to mitigate the consequences of the most vulnerable countries without access to energy resources, including the Russians.
“We reaffirm our intention to remove Russian oil and oil products from our domestic markets and emphasize that the measure of introducing a price cap should ease the pressure on world oil markets,” the G7 said.
US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland previously emphasized that prices could skyrocket if imports of Russian raw materials are banned altogether. In this case, Moscow will be able to make money by selling oil to other countries – India or China – but the price ceiling will not allow oil to be sold at a higher price than the established price.