For “maintenance”, Germany is partially without supply from the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline

First modification: 07/11/2022 – 15:38

Germany has had no gas supply since the early hours of this Monday, July 11. Russia’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline has suspended gas supplies until July 21 for annual “maintenance,” according to infrastructure operator Nord Stream AG, amid German concerns Russia may not be able to resume gas flow as planned. programmed.

The channel, explains the operator, must stop to do routine work that includes “tests of mechanical elements and automation systems.”

But German officials are suspicious of Russia’s intentions, particularly after Gazprom, Russia’s largest gas company, last month cut the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1 by 60%.

Russia’s argument is that Canada, due to sanctions against Moscow for its “special military operation” in Ukraine, has not returned some gas turbines from the German company Siemens that power a compressor station and are needed for the supply of the fuel.

Canada responded over the weekend that it would allow the part to be delivered to Germany, citing the “very significant difficulties” the German economy would suffer without a sufficient gas supply.

“No one has invented any new works (on the Nord Stream gas pipeline). If the turbines return after their repair, this will allow the volume of supply to be increased,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.

The AP asked analyst Chris-Oliver Schickentanz what would happen if Russia cut off gas supplies entirely, and he replied that “a complete shutdown of supplies could tip Germany into a recession with an economic depression of about 5%… that would be comparable to the recession we experienced in the financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009,” he said.

Faced with the suspension of gas supplies from Russia to Germany on Monday and last month by 60%, the Kremlin has rejected any insinuation about the use of fuels as a weapon of political pressure.

Germany had previously rejected Russia’s technical explanation for last month’s reduction in gas flows through Nord Stream 1, saying the decision was a political tactic to sow uncertainty and increase prices.

But Germany has been bracing itself, cutting gas supplied through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, Germany’s main source of Russian gas, by more than half.

German landlords warn about energy prices

Natural gas is an important source of energy in Germany. About half of all homes use gas for heating, according to the German Department of Energy, and several large industries are totally dependent on this fuel, much of which comes from Russia.

The General Association of Landlords (GdW) warned on Monday that the sharp rises in energy and heating prices could become a threat to social peace in the country.

According to calculations by the GdW, energy costs had risen by 37% until May due to the war in Ukraine, which “represents an increase of 508 euros per year for a person who lives alone and 938 euros for a family of 4 people ”, explains the Association.

GdW President Lukas Siebenkotten told the Bild newspaper that this “would spell nothing less than the ruin of millions of tenants and called for new heating subsidies for those with lower incomes.

“If this is not done quickly, we will soon have discord and social confrontations,” he warned.

Italy also suffers from the reduction in gas supply

The suspension of gas to Germany by Russia coincides with the reduction announced on Monday by Italy. The Italian hydrocarbon company Eni, controlled 30% by the State, assures that Russia is reducing a third of the usual supply of gas to the country.

The Italian giant reported in a statement that “it will provide more information in the event of new and significant changes in flows.”

“Gazprom announced that for today (Monday, July 11) it will supply Eni with gas volumes of around 21 million cubic meters/day, compared to an average of around 32 million cubic meters/day in recent days,” he said. the company on its website.

Faced with the possibility of a total cutoff of the Russian gas supply in Italy, Prime Minister Mario Draghi, according to local media, is preparing measures that include decreeing the rationing of energy companies, limiting the consumption of heating in homes and the street lighting and increase the use of coal-fired power plants that are still active.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Italy has been looking for alternative suppliers, as other European countries have done, and has signed with Algeria, its second largest gas supplier, as well as with the Republic of Congo, Qatar and Angola.

With AP and EFE