The closure of Germany’s main gas pipeline from Russia for 10 days of annual maintenance has sparked fears that Moscow might opt to keep the tap turned off.
German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck warned that Russia may cite “some little technical detail” as a reason not to resume gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after this month’s maintenance.
The Kremlin is giving “very varied signals”, the chief of Germany’s network regulator, Klaus Mueller, also warned, cautioning that “no one can say exactly” whether the gas will be switched back on.
“There are Kremlin spokespeople who say that, in combination with the Siemens turbine, they can deliver significantly more again,” Mr Mueller told German broadcaster ZDF, but he said doubts remained.
Suspicions in Berlin are particularly heightened by a disputed incident last month which saw Gazprom cut the flow of gas along the pipeline by 60 per cent.
Russia’s partly state-owned energy firm cited technical problems involving a gas turbine powering a compressor station that partner Siemens Energy sent to Canada for overhaul and couldn’t be returned because of sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
But German politicians have dismissed Russia’s technical explanation for the disruption, claiming the decision was a political gambit to sow uncertainty and push up prices.
Over the weekend, Canada said it would allow the part to be delivered to Germany, citing the “very significant hardship” that the German economy would suffer without a sufficient gas supply.
Germany has desperately sought to reduce its reliance on Russian gas since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, having cut the percentage of its supplies from Moscow from 55 to 35 per cent – amid fears that a total shutdown of supplies would plunge Germany into a major recession.
Moscow has already cut supplies to Denmark, Finland, Poland, Bulgaria and the Netherlands after they refused to pay in Russian roubles, and the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, warned last month that “Europe should be ready in case Russian gas is completely cut off”.
Nord Stream 1 is scheduled to be out of action until 21 July for routine work that the operator says includes “testing of mechanical elements and automation systems”, and the operator's data showed the gas flow dropping as planned on Monday morning.
Italy has also been affected by the planned Nord Stream closure, with Italian energy firm ENI saying Gazprom was cutting its gas delivery on Monday by about a third compared to the average in recent days.
Last month, Mr Habeck activated the second phase of Germany’s three-stage emergency plan for natural gas supplies, warning that Europe’s largest economy faced a “crisis” and storage targets for the winter were at risk.
Additional reporting by AP
