Gazprom, through Alexei Miller, its general director, denounces a “confusion of sanctions” on the part of the West. According to him, the Western sanctions are hindering the maintenance work to be carried out by Siemens Energy on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
Previously, Gazprom had claimed that the sanctions endangered the proper functioning of Nord Stream 1. The Russian company was already talking about the impact of sanctions on the maintenance of its turbines.
The fear of a permanent cut
Several times Gazprom has announced temporary closures of its pipeline. This has, in fact, caused a panic in the gas markets.
Nord Stream 1 is currently paralyzed, Gazprom having announced the temporary closure of the site from August 31 to September 2. In addition, when it is in operation, the pipeline supplies gas at only 20% of its normal capacity.
Thus, on the European side, the fear of a complete cut-off of Russian gas supplies is increasingly felt. This is especially true as winter approaches, when demand is higher. Moreover, the fact that Gazprom has stopped gas deliveries to Engie does not help the situation.
Gazprom blames sanctions
For its part, Gazprom gives justifications for the reduction of gas flows. In particular, the Russian company states that defective and delayed equipment was the main cause.
At the source of these problems, Moscow accuses Western sanctions of having prevented the proper functioning of the gas pipeline.
According to Alexei Miller, Western sanctions would prevent Siemens Energy from carrying out maintenance on Nord Stream 1 equipment. This equipment includes essential elements such as turbines, which are indispensable for the transport of gas.
For Alexei Miller, the large number of sanctions against Russia creates confusion, including for maintenance companies:
“Our opponents have issued so many sanction documents that they have created a situation, which could be described as sanction confusion. And today, Siemens has virtually no ability to perform regular major maintenance on our gas pumping equipment. Siemens simply has no place to perform this work.”
Siemens Energy actually takes care of the maintenance of the turbines. However, the German company said it was not involved in Gazprom’s maintenance work at the compressor station.
Regarding Alexei Miller’s statement, Siemens Energy did not comment.
