Russian gas pipeline: Nord Stream 1 export restart

MOSCOW –

Russian gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline are expected to restart on time on Thursday after the completion of scheduled maintenance, two sources familiar with the export plans told Reuters.

The pipeline, which accounts for more than a third of Russian natural gas exports to the European Union, was shut down for ten days of annual maintenance on July 11.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, told Reuters the pipeline was expected to resume operations on time, but at a capacity below its capacity of around 160 million cubic meters per year. day.

Kremlin-controlled energy giant Gazprom GAZP.MM cut gas exports by road to 40% of capacity last month, citing delays in the return of a turbine that Siemens Energy ENR1n. DE maintained in Canada.

“They (Gazprom) will return to levels seen before July 11,” one of the sources said of expected gas volumes via Nord Stream 1 from Thursday.

Benchmark Dutch contract TRNLTTFMc1 fell 3% after Reuters reporting streams resumed on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the contract traded higher after the Wall Street Journal reported that the European Commission did not expect the pipeline to restart after maintenance.

Gazprom and Nord Stream 1 did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

RUSSIA SAYS IT’S A RELIABLE SUPPLIER

Nord Stream 1, which flows on the bed of the Baltic Sea towards Germany, has been the focus since Russia sent troops to Ukraine on February 24 in what Moscow describes as a « special military operation ».

The West has accused Russia, the world’s largest gas exporter and second-largest supplier of crude oil, of using its energy supplies as a tool of coercion.

Russia has refuted the charges, saying it was a reliable energy supplier.

In a letter dated July 14, however, Gazprom said it was retroactively declaring force majeure on supplies from June 14, a legal clause meaning it cannot guarantee gas delivery due to exceptional circumstances. .

The Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Canada had flown the turbine needed for Nord Stream 1 to Germany on July 17 after repair work was completed.

Siemens Energy declined to comment.

One of the sources told Reuters on Tuesday that the turbine was unlikely to be reinstalled by July 21.

Germany’s economy ministry said on Monday it could not provide details on the location of the turbine.

But a ministry spokesman said the turbine was a spare part not due to be used until September, meaning its absence could not be the real reason for the drop in gas flows before maintenance.

(Reporting from Reuters offices, additional reporting by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; editing by Barbara Lewis)