German manufacturer Siemens said an oil leak did not technically justify shutting down the pipeline
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Additional pressure for the Europeans. The Russian giant Gazprom has announced that the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which was to resume service on Saturday September 3 after three days of maintenance, will finally be “completely” stopped until a turbine is repaired.
In a statement on Friday evening, Gazprom said it had discovered “oil leaks” in the turbine during these three days of maintenance at a compressor station in Russia. The Russian group reports this oil leak on “cables connected to speedometers of a rotor”. These technical problems prevent us from ensuring “safe operation of the gas turbine engine”, supports Gazprom, relying on a warning from the Russian Civil Industry Monitoring Agency. The group did not specify how long the repair of this turbine could take.
Gazprom claimed to have discovered this “oil leak” during a technical inspection carried out with representatives of the Siemens group, which manufactured the turbine. The German manufacturer said that an oil leak did not technically justify shutting down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. “of this type of leak did not lead to the cessation of operations”, he added.
This rebound further accentuates the concern of Europeans, who are struggling to avoid an energy crisis this winter and accuse Moscow of using gas as a weapon, in order to avenge Western sanctions after the Russian offensive in Ukraine. Nord Stream connects Russia to northern Germany.
Earlier in the day, the Kremlin had claimed that only one turbine was operating there and that Nord Stream activity was “threatened” by a shortage of spare parts due to sanctions against Moscow. Moscow claims in particular that these sanctions prevent the return of a Siemens turbine, sent to Canada for repair. Germany, where the turbine is located, assures that it is Russia that is blocking the return of this key piece.
It now seems that fears of a total halt to Russian deliveries as winter approaches are being confirmed. To make up for the missing quantities, Europeans are trying to find other suppliers and reduce their consumption, against a backdrop of skyrocketing gas prices on the markets.