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Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom said a key pipeline transporting gas to Europe will be closed for three days at the end of this month for “routine maintenance”.
Gazprom said in a statement posted online that the only operating turbine at a key compressor station along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline connecting western Russia to Germany will be shut down from Aug. Routine maintenance.
Referring to its German partner Siemens Energy, the company said: “A set of routine maintenance in line with current maintenance contracts will be carried out jointly with Siemens experts.”
Once the work is complete, gas flow through Nord Stream 1 will be restored to its previous level of 33 million cubic meters, or just 20% of the pipeline’s nominal capacity, Gazprom said.
The flow of natural gas through Nord Stream 1 has been controversial. The shutdown will come a month after Gazprom restored gas supply via pipeline to just one-fifth of its capacity.
Russia blamed technical problems for the pipeline cuts, but Germany said it was a political move to sow uncertainty and drive up prices in the conflict in Ukraine.
The newly announced maintenance shutdowns have raised additional concerns that Russia could cut off gas for industry, power generation and heating entirely in an attempt to gain political leverage over Europe as it ramps up winter storage levels.
Gas prices have soared as Russia reduced or cut gas supplies to more than a dozen EU countries, fueling inflation and raising the risk of Europe slipping into recession.
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