As announced two days earlier, the energy giant on Wednesday cut the flow of natural gas through Nord Stream by 1 to 33 million cubic meters per day – about 20% of the pipeline’s total capacity and half the amount it has delivered since the restart operation last week after 10 days of maintenance work. According to grid data from the natural gas transfer station in Lubmin, northeastern Germany, only about 17 million kilowatt-hours of natural gas arrived between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., compared to more than 27 million kWh between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Meanwhile, Italian energy major Eni said it had been told by Gazprom that it would receive only “about 27 million cubic meters” of gas on Wednesday, down from about 34 million cubic meters in recent days. The Russian gas company said the flow of natural gas was reduced because one of the last two operating turbines had to be shut down due to a “technical condition of the engine” – an argument the German government flatly dismissed as a fabricated pretext. “The turbine is there, it has been serviced,” government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said in Berlin, referring to a turbine that Russia had previously cited as a reason for reduced deliveries. “Currently supply contracts are not being met,” he added. “What we are seeing is indeed a power play and we will not allow ourselves to be impressed by that.” A Kremlin spokesman blamed supply shortages on European sanctions. “The technical possibilities of pumping are reduced, more limited. Why; Because the maintenance process of technical devices becomes extremely difficult due to the sanctions adopted by Europe,” said Dmitry Peskov. “Gazprom has been and remains a reliable guarantor of its obligations… but cannot guarantee the pumping of natural gas if imported equipment cannot be maintained due to European sanctions.” On Tuesday, operator Eugas announced a reservation of extra capacity for the Transgas pipeline through Slovakia and Ukraine, raising hopes in Germany that Gazprom was trying to make up for lower deliveries by pumping natural gas through a different route. However, there were no reports of increased deliveries through Transgas on Wednesday. “Transgas has plenty of spare capacity,” said Andreas Schröder, energy expert for market analyst ICIS. “If Russia really wanted to deliver its natural gas to Europe, it could easily reroute it through Slovakia. However, this would also entail paying higher transit fees to Ukraine.” Russian gas deliveries through the Yamal pipeline, which runs through Belarus and Poland, were halted in May due to sanctions. On Tuesday, energy ministers from all 27 European Union member states except Hungary backed a voluntary 15% reduction in natural gas use over the winter, a target that could become mandatory if the Kremlin orders a complete shutdown natural gas to Europe. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Ministers agreed exemptions for island nations and possible exclusions for countries poorly connected to the European gas grid, which would soften the overall effect in the event of a full-blown gas crisis. Germany, which is more dependent on Russian gas than its neighbours, is expected to have to make bigger savings to help the bloc of states meet its reduction targets. “Germany must consume less natural gas,” said Klaus Müller, head of the country’s federal grid agency. He said it was unrealistic to expect Nord Stream 1 to continue to deliver at 40% of capacity. Müller said Germany had already started to make significant savings, partly due to warm spring and summer temperatures. Private households and industry were consuming “five, six, seven percent less natural gas” than usual. However, Müller warned of difficult months ahead. “In the fall the situation will change, natural gas consumption will increase,” he said, noting the country’s heavy reliance on natural gas for heating.
