Gazprom deputy chief executive Vitaly Markelov told Reuters on Tuesday that Russia’s largest natural gas pipeline to Europe will not resume pumping until Siemens Energy repairs faulty equipment.
Europe faces its worst gas supply crisis in history, with energy prices skyrocketing and German importers discussing possible rationing in the European Union’s largest economy after Russia cuts flows to the West. I’m here.
Gazprom said on Friday that Europe’s main supply route, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, will remain closed after an engine oil leak in the compressor station’s turbine caused wholesale gas prices to skyrocket.
Markelov told Reuters at the Eastern Economic Forum in the port of Vladivostok in the Russian Pacific about when Nord Stream 1 will resume its gas supply.
Munich, Germany-based Siemens Energy said Tuesday it did not understand Gazprom’s briefing.
It said an engine oil leak at the last remaining turbine in operation at the Portovaya compressor station was no reason to keep the pipeline closed.
“Based on the information provided over the weekend, we are unable to make sense of this new representation,” Siemens Energy said in a statement.
“Therefore, until further notice, we have determined that the findings communicated to us do not represent a technical reason for shutting down operations. It has no impact and can be sealed on site,” it added.
The Kremlin blames the energy crisis on sanctions imposed on Russia by the West over what President Vladimir Putin calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine. European leaders say Moscow is using its energy to blackmail her EU.
Nord Stream 1, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, is Russia’s largest gas pipeline to Europe, carrying 59.2 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Once seen as a symbol of cooperation between one of the world’s largest energy giants and the world’s fourth-largest economy, Nord Stream is now the subject of condemnation between Berlin and Moscow.
European politicians have argued that since the end of 1999, Russia’s supreme leader, Putin, has used his influence as president of one of the world’s largest energy powerhouses to create discord in Europe over the conflict in Ukraine. said to be causing
EU politicians have dismissed Gazprom’s explanation of the turbine problem as a pretext.
But the Kremlin says the West has imposed the toughest sanctions in modern history, triggering an energy crisis that Putin has said is akin to declaring economic war.
The Kremlin also warned that Russia would retaliate against a G7 proposal to impose a price cap on Russian oil.
Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said in Vladivostok on Tuesday that Russia would meet the price cap by increasing oil shipments to Asia. He said Russia and its partners are considering setting up an insurance company to facilitate oil trade.
