BERLIN – Russia’s state gas monopoly Gazprom said Monday it would further cut the amount of natural gas it sends to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, less than a week after resuming limited flows after an annual maintenance stop.
Flows had already been reduced to 40 percent of capacity, but Gazprom said it would reduce them to 20 percent from Wednesday, citing problems with one of the powerful turbines made by German firm Siemens Energy. The turbines generate pressure inside the pipe to send the gas over long distances.
In mid-June, Russia began reducing the amount of gas sent through the 760-mile undersea pipeline, blaming the reduction on a missing turbine that had been sent to Canada for repairs.
On Monday, Gazprom said on its social media accounts that it was “turning off one more gas turbine engine produced by Siemens.”
Germany’s economy ministry has always rejected Gazprom’s argument that a damaged turbine was to blame for restrictions on gas flows, saying instead that the cuts were another way for Russia to punish Europe to oppose the war in Ukraine.
The Berlin government has rejected Gazprom’s latest planned cut.
“According to our information, there is no technical reason for a reduction in deliveries,” the German economy ministry said in a statement after Gazprom’s announcement.
Observers said the move smacked of President Vladimir V. Putin’s intention to use Russia’s energy exports as a cudgel to punish and divide European leaders by loosening or tightening the taps as he and his war targets in Ukraine.
“Gazprom’s announcement should come as no surprise,” said Simone Tagliapietra, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank. “Russia is playing a strategic game here. Fluctuation of already low flows is better than a complete cut as it manipulates the market and optimizes geopolitical impact.”
European Union energy ministers will meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss a proposal to get citizens and businesses in the 27-member bloc to save energy. But divisions have emerged as countries that do not rely heavily on Russian gas, such as Greece and Spain, chafe at the idea of needing to cut consumption to help Germany, their wealthy northern partner.
In his late-night speech on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the unfolding crisis as an “open gas war” against a “united” Europe, one deliberately timed by Moscow. “These are just different forms of terror,” he said.
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany relied on Russia to provide 55 percent of its global natural gas needs. It has reduced that share to 30 percent over the past four months, but is struggling to save enough fuel to ensure it will have enough stores to get through the winter.
Hours before Gazprom announced the new cuts, the head of Germany’s grid regulator, Klaus Müller, said the country’s storage facilities had reached 65.9 percent of capacity and so , “they finally got back on track.” The goal is to have the storage 75 percent full by early September.
Gazprom’s announcement should have made clear to all members of the European Union how important it is for them to act quickly and decisively to start saving gas, Tagliapietra said. “Action on this cannot be delayed any longer.”