Russian company Gazprom cited “force majeure” to halt gas supplies to Europe via the Nordstream 1 pipeline.
According to Reuters, the sign was sent to at least one major customer last week on July 14, saying the company was predicting delivery difficulties to Germany and surrounding countries due to extraordinary circumstances beyond its control.
The Nordstream 1 pipeline has been shut down since July 11 at regular intervals for ten days of maintenance. However, EU countries fear the equipment will not be activated again on Thursday as planned due to the military invasion of Ukraine following economic sanctions on Russia.
Brussels is already preparing a contingency plan To be delivered on Wednesday. The document should present limits on the energy use of the module, as well as the diversification of energy sources and the creation of a warning system.
last week, Gazprom has already issued a statement To indicate no Nordstream was able to guarantee the smooth operation of the pipeline because it could not be certain whether a German turbine repaired in Canada could be recovered.
“Gazprom is not in possession of any documents that would allow Siemens to withdraw the gas turbine engine from Canada,” Ottawa said it wanted to return to Berlin. “Under these conditions, it is not possible to make an objective decision about the development of the situation related to the operation of the gas pipeline in complete safety”.
The turbine in question is being repaired in Canada. He was the protagonist of another tense diplomatic moment, Germany asked Justin Trudeau’s administration for an exception to sanctions on Moscow, allowing it to retrieve and ship the equipment. Ukraine condemned the gesture.
