For ten days, no Russian gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Europe. For ten days, Germany trembled as to whether Putin would even turn on the gas tap again after the maintenance. Now there is certainty that the commodity will go further for now, albeit less than before.
After the maintenance of Nord Stream 1, gas delivery through the German-Russian pipeline started in the morning. Gas is flowing again, a spokesman for Nord Stream AG told the dpa news agency. It will take some time before the full transport capacity is reached. The spokesman said the gas was last announced at about the same level as before the maintenance, i.e. around 67 million cubic meters per day. That corresponds to about 40 percent utilization of the maximum capacity. However, the notified quantities can also change in the course of a day with a certain amount of advance notice.
However, bookings for the transmission of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline are initially at a reduced level on Thursday. As the head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, wrote on Twitter, the so-called nominations for Nord Stream 1 are still around 30 percent of the capacity. The nominations are binding for the next two hours, changes in bookings within one day would be very unusual. Before the start of maintenance, the Russian gas monopolist Gazprom had cut the capacity of deliveries through Nord Stream 1 to 40 percent.
The pipeline that supplies Russian natural gas to Europe has been out of service for 10 days since July 11 for an annual maintenance. Most recently, the Russian state-owned company Gazprom indicated that there were still problems with a gas turbine from Siemens Energy that was serviced in Canada and is used for a compressor station. In Canada, the federal government had tried to ensure that the turbine could be delivered despite Canadian sanctions against the Russian energy sector – albeit to Germany, not to Russia. Berlin then took care of the shipment to Russia itself.
After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the West imposed sanctions on Russia. Russia, in turn, had completely or partially stopped gas supplies to European countries. The delivery volume in the coming months is likely to have a major impact on the German economy, for example, but also on private customers, as it is likely to affect gas prices. It should also be decisive for how far Germany can fill up its gas storage facilities before the cold season and whether there will be a shortage.
