For an indefinite time: Gazprom completely stopped the pumping of gas through the Nord Stream

Gazprom will not resume gas transportation through the Nord Stream pipeline due to technical problems identified during the inspection.

This was announced on Friday, September 2, in the press service of the company.

“Until the comments on the operation of the equipment are eliminated, the transport of gas to the Nord Stream gas pipeline has been completely stopped,” the report says.

On August 31, gas supplies along both lines of Nord Stream were suspended for maintenance of the only operating gas compressor unit (GPA No. 24) on the main line.

Initially, it was assumed that the preventive maintenance would last three days, and already on September 3, the gas pipeline could be launched again.

Meanwhile, during routine maintenance, employees of Gazprom and the German company Siemens discovered massive oil leaks at the unit.

Rostekhnadzor warned that the identified malfunctions did not allow for the safe operation of the gas turbine engine and its further operation should be stopped.

“Such oil leaks were previously found at gas compressor units with engines No. 075, No. 076, No. 120, which underwent factory overhaul and are now in a state of forced downtime.

In accordance with information from Siemens, the complete elimination of oil leaks on these engines is possible only under the conditions of a specialized repair facility,” Gazprom said.

"Sanction Trap"

Recall that Nord Stream gas comes directly from Russia to Germany, from where it is then transported to other EU countries.

Both lines of the pipeline run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea and allow the pumping of 55 billion cubic meters.

m of fuel per year.

To supply raw materials, several gas compressor units of different capacities are installed on the main, and Siemens is engaged in their maintenance.

In the summer of 2022, Gazprom was forced to reduce gas pumping through Nord Stream by more than five times, from the planned volume of 167 million cubic meters.

m per day up to 33 million cubic meters.

m. Thus, the capacity of the pipeline fell to 20% of the maximum possible.

The reason was problems with the return of the Siemens turbine after a major overhaul.

Initially, the equipment could not be returned due to anti-Russian sanctions of Canada, where the unit was sent for repair.

Later, at the request of Berlin, Ottawa eased the restrictions and sent the engine, but the unit "got stuck" during transit through Germany.

Now the parties still cannot agree on guarantees and documents for transporting the engine to Russia.

In the meantime, other turbines needed to run Nord Stream have reached the end of their lives, so Gazprom has shut them down completely as the equipment can no longer be sent to Canada for overhaul.

“Our opponents have already issued such a large number of sanctions documents that they have created a situation that can be called sanctions confusion.

They themselves are already entangled in these documents, they themselves are entangled in these sanctions, and, in fact, they themselves fell into their own sanctions trap,” Alexei Miller, head of Gazprom, said on August 31 on the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

• Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Board of PJSC Gazprom

• RIA News

• © Mikhail Klimentiev

It is noteworthy that in Europe the actions of Gazprom are considered politically motivated, and Russia itself has been repeatedly accused by EU countries of allegedly using gas as an instrument of pressure.

A similar statement was made on Friday by the head of the press service of the European Commission, Eric Mamer, after reporting a complete stop of the Nord Stream.

“The next closure of Nord Stream announced by Gazprom under far-fetched pretexts once again confirms its unreliability as a supplier.

This also proves the cynicism of Russia, which prefers to burn gas instead of fulfilling contractual obligations (to the European Union. -

),” Mamer wrote on Twitter.

Moscow, meanwhile, is fully prepared to fulfill its obligations to European consumers, but this is hindered by the sanctions of the West itself.

This position was previously expressed by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.

Gazprom is ready and willing to continue fulfilling its obligations, but in this case, the European side has created legal and technological obstacles that prevent Gazprom from working.

This is really a crisis situation... I would like to call these Gazprom counterparties to common sense, but so far we can only state a large lack of common sense on their part," the Kremlin spokesman emphasized.

Price unlimited

According to experts interviewed by RT, the complete shutdown of Nord Stream could lead to another round of rising gas prices in Europe.

According to BitRiver financial analyst Vladislav Antonov, the cost of raw materials may again rise to $3,000 per 1,000 cubic meters.

m. In turn, the head of the analytical department of AMarkets Artyom Deev did not rule out an increase in prices to $4 thousand in the foreseeable future.

A similar assessment is shared by Gazprom.

“If the trends that are on the market today persist, the price at the peak of the autumn-winter maximum may exceed $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters.

m. And literally in recent days, the Asian seasonal factor has also joined in the struggle for LNG with the European market.

And without a doubt, the Asian seasonal factor puts pressure on the price trend,” said Alexey Miller.

As Artyom Deev explained, in recent months, Nord Stream has remained a key route for transporting gas from Russia to the EU.

So, to date, the pumping of fuel through the Yamal-Europe pipeline has been completely stopped due to restrictions from Poland, Ukraine has halved the transit of Russian fuel through its territory, and the European authorities still oppose the launch of Nord Stream 2.

“Thus, only Turkish Stream and Blue Stream are operating at full capacity today.

However, the volume of deliveries via these routes is much lower compared to the fully functioning Nord Stream,” added Artyom Deev.

In the current environment, Europe risks facing even more acute gas shortages during the heating season, analysts warn.

To date, the occupancy of underground gas storage facilities in the EU has already exceeded the target of 80%, although previously it was planned to reach this indicator only by November 1.

However, the current reserves of the European Union still may not be enough to survive the winter, experts are sure.

“Gas in underground storage facilities is needed to smooth out seasonal or daily uneven consumption.

Without stable gas supplies, the reserves will only last for three months of the heating season instead of six.

So that chaos does not start in Europe, enterprises continue their activities, gas must flow uninterruptedly through pipelines to the EU,” Vladislav Antonov explained.

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Jamie Grill

It is curious that a few hours before Gazprom's announcement about the shutdown of Nord Stream, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed introducing a ceiling on Russian gas prices.

In parallel with this, the G7 countries decided to limit the cost of oil from the Russian Federation and thereby reduce Moscow's income from the sale of hydrocarbons.

The Russian authorities said that in response to such measures, they will completely block oil exports to countries that support restrictions.

A similar step may follow in the gas sector, warned Deputy Head of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev.

“It will be like oil.

There will simply be no Russian gas in Europe,” Medvedev wrote in his Telegram channel.

"Inflation is unlikely to be curbed"

Let us recall that earlier, in order to prepare for possible interruptions in the supply of Russian gas, the EU countries decided to jointly reduce the consumption of this type of fuel by 15% during the heating season.

The corresponding plan came into force on August 9 and will be valid until March 31, 2023.

The initiative provides for exemptions for some EU countries, and the reduction in fuel consumption itself is voluntary.

Nevertheless, in the event of an acute shortage of gas, an all-Union alarm regime could be declared, and then a reduction in demand would become mandatory.

“Europe, of course, can reduce consumption, as intended.

However, it is the result that EU politicians need, and the fact that factories are already closing in the region does not really bother them.

It seems that the leadership of the European Union likes to bring companies to a deplorable state, and then pull them out of the debt hole, ”said Vladislav Antonov.

The increase in gas prices observed in Europe has already turned into a record increase in prices for a number of consumer goods and services in the EU.

According to Eurostat, in August, inflation in the eurozone accelerated to 9.1% in annual terms for the first time ever.

Meanwhile, in the Baltic States, the figure has exceeded 20%.

“It is unlikely that the European authorities will be able to contain inflation: more than 40% of the contribution to the rise in the cost of goods is made by energy resources.

A further rise in gas prices will lead to an even greater acceleration of inflation, significantly increase the threat of bankruptcies of enterprises and a reduction in the production of a number of goods.

Now companies that deal with nitrogen fertilizers have announced a decrease in output by at least 30%.

Chemical companies are also reducing production.

All this is a direct path to a full-fledged recession in Europe with rising inflation and a falling economy,” concluded Artyom Deev.