The gas pipeline from Russia to Germany will not reopen as planned on Saturday, state energy company Gazprom said. The firm said it had found an oil leak from a turbine in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, meaning it would be shut down indefinitely.
The pipeline has been closed for the past three days for what Gazprom described as maintenance work. The news comes amid growing fears that families across the EU may not be able to afford the cost of heating this winter.
Energy prices have soared since Russia invaded Ukraine, and supply shortages could drive up the cost further. Europe is trying to cut off Russian power to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance the war. Still, the transition may not come fast enough.
Moscow denies using the energy supplies as an economic weapon in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion. It has blamed sanctions for delaying routine maintenance on Nord Stream 1, but the EU says this is a pretext.
Germany’s grid regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, said the country was better prepared for the cutoff of Russian gas supplies but urged citizens and businesses to cut consumption.
The G7 (Group of Seven) comprises the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Its introduction of a price cap means that countries that sign up for the policy can buy only Russian seaborne oil and oil products sold at or below the cap price. However, Russia says it will not export to countries participating in the cap.
The pipeline runs from the Russian coast near St. Petersburg to northeastern Germany and can transport up to 170 million cubic meters of gas daily.
It is owned and operated by Nord Stream AG, whose majority shareholder is Gazprom. Germany had also previously supported the construction of a parallel pipeline – Nord Stream 2 – but the project was halted after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Gazprom said the fault had been detected at the Portovaya compressor station, with the inspection carried out alongside workers from Siemens, the German firm maintaining the turbine.
It said that fixing oil leaks in key engines was only possible in specialised workshops, which Western sanctions had hindered.
However, Siemens said: “Such leaks do not normally affect the operation of a turbine and can be sealed on site. It is a routine procedure within the scope of maintenance work.”
This is not the first time since the invasion that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been closed. In July, Gazprom cut off supplies for 10 days, citing “a maintenance break”. It restarted again 10 days later, but at a much-reduced level.
Speaking to the BBC from the Swiss capital Bern, an economist and energy analyst, Cornelia Meyer, said the gas shutdown would significantly impact employment and prices.
“That has huge ramifications for gas in Europe, which is about four times more expensive than it was a year ago, and this cost of living crisis will soar because it’s not just gas,” she said. “Gas becomes fertiliser, and it’s used in many industrial processes, affecting jobs and costs.”