Russian giant Gazprom announced today that it is reducing the supply of gas to Europe by another third through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, the day after the first announcement of the drastic reduction, stating that the reason is the interruption of the supply of parts of German Siemens.
“Gazprom has stopped the operation of another Siemens gas turbine at the Portovaja station”, where the North Stream is being filled, and where the daily production will drop from 100 to 67 cubic meters of gas per day from tomorrow, it is stated in the announcement.
Yesterday, Gazprom announced the first reduction in deliveries from 167 to 100 million cubic meters of gas, explaining that decision by the lack of a Siemens compressor, which is why not all gas compression units can work.
Canadian sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine prevent the German partner Siemens Energy from delivering repaired equipment.
This reduces the daily gas supply by almost 60 percent through the underwater gas pipeline that connects Russia with Germany via the Baltic Sea.
Although Gazprom explains these reductions by technical reasons, Berlin announced today, even before the announcement of the second reduction, that it was a “political decision” by Moscow in the midst of great tensions with Western countries due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Deliveries of Russian gas to Europe have been falling steadily since the beginning of the application of Western sanctions against Moscow, and the EU is trying to get rid of its energy dependence on Russia.
In recent weeks, Gazprom has cut off gas supplies to several European customers who refused to pay in rubles, which Russia demanded in response to EU sanctions imposed after the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine.
The Nord Stream gas pipeline delivers Russian gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea in arms of 1,224 kilometers each. It was put into operation in 2012, and the investment cost almost 7.4 billion euros.
According to the data of the company for the exploitation of the gas pipeline, 59.2 billion cubic meters of gas were exported from Russia to Europe via the North in 2021.