The Russian consortium questioned on Wednesday the restoration of the Russian-German Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline due to the “impossibility” of returning a turbine that is under repair in Canada. From Ottawa, it was clarified that this turbine will be delivered to the German company ‘Siemens Energy’. But doubts about the use of supplies as a “pressure weapon” towards Berlin and other European countries remain in force in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This Wednesday, Gazprom insisted that it cannot guarantee the return of safe supply through this gas pipeline that connects from Víborg, in Russia, to Greifswald, in northern Germany, given the impossibility of the return of a turbine.
On July 11, the Russian company announced a 10-day suspension of the gas supply through the Nord Stream 1 pipelines, due to “maintenance”, a version questioned by the German Bundestag.
A faulty turbine that allows to feed a compressor station, essential to ensure the pressure in the delivery of the gas supply, was the cause of this suspension. The repair of this has been used from Russia to justify, since last month, a reduction of the total flow.
On Twitter, the company posted that “it did not have any document that would allow the turbine to be imported,” which directly affects the gas pipeline.
The Nord Stream, one of the longest gas pipelines in the world, with more than 1,200 km through the Baltic Sea, was one of the main works promoted by Russia to avoid physical passage through countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Poland or Estonia, among others. other countries, and thus directly control the flow.
A specter haunts Europe, the specter of energy shortages
This decrease in supply has led to an increase in energy prices of more than 400% in the European bloc and calls into question both storage and supply in the winter months, those with the greatest pressure on demand.
Hungary announced this Wednesday a declaration of “energy emergency” due to the increase in prices and the uncertainty surrounding supply. It is “unlikely that there will be enough gas in Europe for the autumn and winter heating season,” said Gergely Gulyás, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff.
Also, this country announced an increase in domestic energy production and a ban on exports.
In Germany, a country that has developed historic energy links with Russia, from the Ostpolitk in the 1970s, various political sectors rejected the announcement to ‘turn off the tap’ for maintenance over the weekend.
From Spain, the increases in the price of the megawatt, above the threshold of 100 euros, have impacted the purchasing power of citizens and inflation in this country, which registered an increase of 10.2% in its annual rate in June, was driven among other reasons by the volatile price of energy and food.
Other countries, with higher degrees of energy dependence on Russia, such as the Baltic countries (except Estonia), Greece, among others, have also seen a historic increase in the price and are concerned about the coming months.
opening the ‘matryoshka’ of Gazprom
Gazprom is more than a sponsor of the Champions League football tournament. Energy distribution from Russia is mainly coordinated by this company, which has a 50% state participation and controls up to 15% of the world’s proven gas reserves.
In addition, it is considered a ‘Soviet heritage’, since it was created as a result of the disappearance of the Soviet Ministry of Gas.
The book ‘Gazprom, L’arme de la Russie‘ (‘Gazprom, Russia’s weapon’, in Spanish) published in 2008 by journalists Valery Paniouchkine and Mikhaïl Zygar, reconstructs how the world’s leading gas producer has translated this geological advantage into geopolitics.
The authors point out how the return of President Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin changed the priorities of Russia’s foreign policy towards Europe and turned the supply of gas, coal and oil into an ‘energy weapon’. Also, since his training and his time at the Leningrad Institute of Mines, the Russian leader showed an affinity for understanding Russia’s energy resources in a function superior to supply.
Another concern towards this company lies in who compose it, since the ‘revolving door’ between the Kremlin and the company’s senior officials, as the authors of the book point out, is another issue of concern from the West.
The nuclear energy: Back in the game?
On July 7, the European Parliament gave its support, from Strasbourg, eastern France, to natural gas and nuclear energy as “sustainable investments”. The Brussels proposal creates limitations on the time for the “sustainable” label for these questioned alternatives and would also allow generating funds for these energy projects.
In the case of gas, the “sustainable” taxonomy would go until 2030 and investments in nuclear energy would be subject to deliberation. Some environmental organizations such as ‘Greenpeace’ announced a study of the resolution to file possible lawsuits in European courts.
“We believe that it is very important to have a European vision and a coordinated approach to a possible complete cut off of Russian gas. (…) We have to think about where the gas is most needed and how we can make sure that the gas really flows to where it is most needed”, said Ursula Von der Leyen, last July 7, from Strasbourg.
Although Germany has been one of the staunchest opponents of nuclear energy, France has found in this form of electricity generation the basis of its energy supply.
Thus, more than 70% of France’s energy requirements come from this source.
Only the arrival of winter on the European continent will be able to mark the future of energy security in the region and will define the steps to follow with respect to the historical energy interdependence from Russia.
With information from AP, AFP, Reuters and German local media
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