Russia’s Gazprom halted the flow of natural gas through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe early on Wednesday, a stoppage that it announced in advance and has said will last three days.
The Russian state-owned energy company announced the closure of Nord Stream 1 in mid-August, citing maintenance at a compressor station — an explanation that German officials have cast doubt on.
Gazprom says that work is necessary on the only remaining functioning turbine at the Portovaya station, at the Russian end of the pipeline.
Gazprom started cutting supplies through Nord Stream 1 in mid-June. It cited technical problems that German authorities have dismissed as cover for a political power play. In recent weeks, Nord Stream 1 has been running at only 20% of capacity.
Russia, which before the reductions started, accounted for a bit more than a third of Germany’s gas supplies, has also reduced the flow of gas to other European countries which have sided with Ukraine in the war.
Natural gas is used to power industry, heat homes and offices, and generate electricity.
Increasing the amount in reserve has been a key focus of the German government since Russia invaded Ukraine, to avoid rationing for industry as demand rises in the winter.
In July, the government moved to tighten storage requirements. It introduced a requirement for storage to be 75% full by September 1 — a target that already has been surpassed — and raised the targets for October and November to 85% and 95%, respectively, from 80% and 90%.
The EU’s #gas #storage is now more than 80% full, well ahead the 1 November target date. Member States & companies have done a great job. Let’s continue filling where the level is still lower & implement the #EU demand reduction plan. This will help us get through winter safely. pic.twitter.com/RzSn9STqHq
— Kadri Simson (@KadriSimson) August 31, 2022
As of Wednesday, Germany’s storage facilities were over 83% full.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government had done well to act early, when “not everyone was sure we might have a problem”.
While Germany looks to store gas and diversify its supplies, it is also among countries pushing for an urgent redesign of the European electricity market to decrease the influence of soaring gas prices on the cost of energy.
“The pressure is so great that I am really very confident that it will be done quickly,” he said on Wednesday, without specifying whether changes would be in place this winter.
Ending our dependency on Russian fossil fuels is step one.
Our increased need for other raw materials must not create new dependencies.
We must diversify supply and build ties with reliable partners.⁰
I will be in 🇨🇦 in two weeks to advance our partnership. pic.twitter.com/tK7xg7lUon— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 29, 2022
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen pledged reform on Monday.
The European Union’s energy commissioner, Kardi Simson, said on Wednesday that the 27-nation bloc already had reached its goal of filling gas storage to 80% of capacity ahead of the winter months. The target date was November 1.
EU member Hungary, which has been close to Russia and insisted on a temporary exemption from the bloc’s embargo on Russian oil, is getting more gas from Moscow.
Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said on Facebook on Wednesday that Gazprom would deliver up to 5.8 million cubic metres per day in September and October on top of the amounts already outlined in a long-term agreement between the two countries, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.
