Register now for FREE, unlimited access to Reuters.comRegister
- Gazprom says the ball is in Siemens Energy’s court
- Siemens Energy: We do not understand Gazprom
- Germany talks about energy rationing
- Russia: We will send our oil to Asia
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Russia’s largest natural gas pipeline to Europe will not resume pumping until Siemens Energy ( ENR1n.DE ) repairs faulty equipment, the deputy chief executive told Reuters on Tuesday of Gazprom (GAZP.MM), Vitaly Markelov.
Europe is facing its worst gas supply crisis, with energy prices rising and German importers even discussing possible rationing in the European Union’s biggest economy after Russia cut flows to in the west
Gazprom ( GAZP.MM ) said on Friday that the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, Europe’s main supply route, would remain closed as a turbine at a compression station leaked engine oil, causing the wholesale gas prices increase. Read more
Register now for FREE, unlimited access to Reuters.comRegister
Asked when Nord Stream 1 would start pumping gas again, Markelov told Reuters on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok: “You should ask Siemens. They have to repair the equipment first “.
Munich, Germany-based Siemens Energy said on Tuesday it did not understand Gazprom’s presentation of the situation.
He said an engine oil leak in the last remaining operating turbine at the Portovaya compressor station was not a reason to keep the pipeline closed. Read more
“We are unable to understand this new representation based on the information provided to us over the weekend,” Siemens Energy said in a written statement.
“Therefore, until further notice, our assessment is that the finding communicated to us does not represent a technical reason for stopping the operation. These leaks do not normally affect the operation of a turbine and are they can seal on the spot,” he adds.
Pipes from the ground facilities of the ‘Nord Stream 1’ gas pipeline are shown in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke//File photo
ENERGY WAR?
The Kremlin blames the energy crisis on sanctions imposed on Russia by the West over what President Vladimir Putin calls his “special military operation” in Ukraine. European leaders say Moscow is using energy to blackmail the EU.
Nord Stream 1, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, is by far the largest Russian gas pipeline to Europe, transporting up to 59.2 billion cubic meters of gas a year.
Once considered a symbol of cooperation between one of the world’s biggest energy powers and the world’s fourth largest economy, Nord Stream has now become the subject of recriminations between Berlin and Moscow.
European politicians say Putin, Russia’s top leader since the last day of 1999, is using his influence as head of one of the world’s biggest energy powers to stoke discord in Europe over the conflict in Ukraine .
EU politicians dismiss Gazprom’s explanations for turbine problems as a pretext.
But the Kremlin says the West triggered the energy crisis by imposing the toughest sanctions in modern history, a move Putin says amounts to a declaration of economic war.
The Kremlin also warned that Russia would retaliate over a G7 proposal to impose a price cap on Russian oil, a move unlikely to hurt Russia unless China and India do so.
Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said in Vladivostok on Tuesday that Russia will respond to the price cap by sending more oil to Asia. He said Russia and its partners were considering creating an insurer to facilitate oil trade. Read more
Register now for FREE, unlimited access to Reuters.comRegister
Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Jan Harvey
Our standards: the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.