The Russian company, "Gazprom", announced today, Wednesday, that it stopped the work of another Siemens turbine, for periodic maintenance, and linked any adjustment to the quantities with the repair of pumping turbines, in conjunction with the adoption of a European agreement on an emergency reduction in the consumption of Russian gas.
As a result of this step, the daily pumping volume of Russian gas to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will again decrease to 31 million cubic meters per day, out of 60 million cubic meters, according to the "Gascad" company, the operator of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. ".
The Kremlin had announced yesterday, Tuesday, that a technical problem facing one of the turbines in the “Nord Stream 1” line, after repairing another turbine in Canada, is now on its way to its site, and indicated that the technical problems in the mentioned pipeline are very complicated, due to restrictions and penalties imposed. On Russia, he warned of the repercussions of Western sanctions on the completion of maintenance operations.
But the Europeans reject the technical justification and accuse Moscow of using gas as an economic and political weapon, and a German government spokeswoman said it was a "power play" and a cut that "has no technical reason".
Reducing production and increasing prices
The Russian announcement of a new reduction in the flow of natural gas led to a rise in electricity prices in Europe to record levels.
According to Bloomberg, natural gas prices in Europe have risen by more than 21%, and coal futures prices have reached an all-time high.
Electricity futures contracts rose in Germany by more than 10%, and in France by more than 6%.
Bloomberg said that these increases will increase the suffering of consumers, companies, and the industrial sector, which is already suffering from the repercussions of rising inflation rates to record levels.
The European Union, during the meeting of energy ministers in Brussels, approved a voluntary reduction plan to reduce Russian gas consumption by 15%, starting from next month until March 31, 2023, compared to the average consumption in the past five years.
An EU statement said the agreement was a response to Russia, which uses energy supplies as a weapon against EU countries.
The union statement indicated that the reduction in consumption aims to provide the necessary needs for the winter season, in preparation for a possible gas cut from Russia.
For his part, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Josef Sekila said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had failed to divide the European Union, pledging not to allow the security of Europeans to be threatened by cutting off gas supplies.
Sekila added, in an interview with Al-Jazeera, that the Europeans agreed to reduce dependence on Russian gas by 15%, and to take measures in the event of cutting off gas supplies.
European differences
The decrease in the flow of Russian gas to Europe comes at a time when Russian gas imports to Europe constitute about 68% of the total exports of the Russian "Gazprom" company, according to the company's data for 2020.
According to the International Energy Agency, the income generated from gas and oil exports in January 2022 constituted 45% of the Russian federal budget, and the European Union countries pay $400 million daily to Russia for gas.
In the European Union, there are countries for which Russian oil and gas are the backbone of life, such as Hungary, which imports 65% of its oil from Russia and 80% of the gas it uses.
Prior to adopting the plan of the European countries regarding the gas reduction plan, several European countries expressed their rejection of the plan.
Hungary was the staunch opponent of the plan, and it voted against it, and its foreign minister went to Russia to discuss new gas deals with Moscow.
France had also announced its rejection of the plan, and Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister of Energy Transition, said earlier that she does not wish to adopt unified goals that do not adapt to the reality of each party.
For his part, Portuguese Energy Minister Joao Galampa said that the Portuguese government will not support the plan aimed at reducing European demand for gas by 15%.
Belgium, in turn, is opposed to the plan, according to the Belgian newspapers "L'Echo" and "De Tijd", and the two newspapers said that Brussels had asked to be excluded from the mandatory nature of this plan.
On the other hand, Sven Giegold, Minister of State in the German Environment Ministry, praised the agreement on the plan, and said that it was done by a supermajority, and only Hungary opposed, as he put it, and German Foreign Minister, Annallina Birbock had said yesterday, Tuesday, "It is very important for us to stop dependence on imports of Russian fossil fuels.
For its part, Spain praised the plan, after Spanish Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said, earlier, that "whatever happens, Spanish families will not cut off electricity or gas, and Spain will defend its industry," as she put it.
euro and dollar
The euro rose slightly against the dollar, without being able to compensate for its losses yesterday caused by the suspension of Russian gas supplies to Europe via the "Nord Stream 1" line.
This comes after the euro fell yesterday by more than 1%, as a result of concern over the impact of Russian gas supply disruptions on European economies.
The euro is witnessing a decline, exacerbated by the repercussions of Russia's war on Ukraine, and it fell about two weeks ago below the parity rate with the dollar, amid fears of exacerbating inflation and the possibility of the EU countries entering an economic recession.
On the other hand, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Europe has put obstacles in the way of Russian energy projects, Nord Stream 1 and 2, and added during his meeting with representatives of the African diplomatic corps in the Ethiopian capital that Europe has deprived itself of 50% of cheap Russian gas without a valid reason, only with the aim of Exclusion of Russian energy projects.
American plan
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen discussed a proposal to cap the price of Russian oil.
This was stated in a phone call yesterday with British Finance Minister Nazim Al-Zahawi, in a move aimed at reducing the impact of the war in Ukraine on global energy prices.
In a statement, the US Treasury said the two ministers discussed the need to continue accelerating budget support for Ukraine, and the opportunities for tightening sanctions against Russia.
Gas crisis worsening
Gas shipments through the Nord Stream pipeline fell today, Wednesday, to about 20% of its capacity, according to data from the German operator, which increases the risk of a shortage this winter in Europe.
The operating authority "Gascad" said that about 14.4 gigawatts / hour of shipments of Russian gas arrived in Germany since nine (7:00 GMT), compared to about 29 gigawatts / hour on average in recent days.
The Russian energy group "Gazprom" announced, last Monday, this new sharp decrease in the volume of shipments, which comes in the midst of the energy crisis between Moscow and the West since the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine.
At the same time, the Italian group Eni announced that Gazprom informed it that gas shipments will be limited to 27 million cubic meters on Wednesday, compared to 34 million "in recent days."
Before the war in Ukraine, Nord Stream was transporting about 73 gigawatts per hour to supply Germany - which depends mainly on Russian gas - as well as other European countries through the line that passes under the Baltic Sea.
But supplies were 40% below normal by mid-June before the line was completely shut down for 10 days for annual maintenance between July 11 and 21.
Since then the gas flow has resumed.
The dispute leads to a rise in European gas prices, which recorded Tuesday's highest level since March.