Gazprom further cuts gas delivery to Europe
The statement by Gazprom said that it was also halting the operation of one of the last two working turbines due to the technical condition of the engine.
— Gazprom (@GazpromEN) July 25, 2022
The German government said that there were no technical justifications for Gazprom’s announcement. But the energy giant does not have any legal requirement to fulfill its obligations because it already declared force majeure to some of its European customers.
The German group Siemens Energy, which is responsible for the maintenance of the aforementioned turbine, also said that turbine and the gas cuts did not have anything to do with one another.
Gazprom had said that there were technical problems with transporting another turbine which was sent to Canada for repairs. The Russian energy company claimed that the turbine could not be brought back due to sanctions imposed by the UK and the EU.
— Gazprom (@GazpromEN) July 25, 2022
Siemens said that the German authorities had provided all the necessary paperwork. Adding that “What is missing are the customs documents for import to Russia. Gazprom, as the customer, is required to provide those.”
Russia had just restored critical gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline following a 10-day “maintenance break.” The supply was only at 40 percent of the pipeline’s capacity. With the new cut, it will drop to approximately 20 percent.
The EU blames Russia for weaponizing energy exports. Moscow ripostes by saying that EU sanctions make it practically impossible to export more natural gas to the bloc.
The EU is bracing for a hard winter in case Russia decides to introduce further cuts or a total cut of oil and gas exports to the bloc. This would deal a catastrophic blow to European countries. The EU Commission touted the idea of a mandatory gas consumption reduction under the plan “Save Gas for a Safe Winter” which received backlash from numerous member states.
