The comments signaled a deepening of a dispute in which Russia has cited problems with turbines as the reason for cutting gas supplies through Nord Stream 1 – the main gas link to Europe – to just 20% of capacity from Wednesday. Vitaly Markelov, Gazprom’s deputy chief executive, also said Russia has repeatedly complained to Siemens Energy about problems with other turbines. “We have repeatedly applied to the Russian representative office of Siemens about this, we sent 10 letters. Siemens did not correct more than a quarter of the identified errors,” he said in a television interview. He listed the serial numbers of three other engines that needed repair by Siemens because of failures in May and June that had put them in a forced shutdown state. Siemens Energy declined to respond to Markelov’s comments. The company cited an earlier statement made on Wednesday in which it said it did not have access to the turbines on site and had not received any damage reports from Gazprom, so it had to assume the turbines were operating normally. The European Union disputes Russia and Gazprom’s argument that turbine problems are to blame for the sharp drop in supply through the pipeline linking Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The shortfall has raised the risk of gas shortages and gas shortages in Europe this winter. Siemens Energy has previously countered Gazprom’s criticism of its service, saying it was up to the Russian company to file customs paperwork to return the turbine. With the two sides trading economic blows since Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, the European Union has accused Russia of energy blackmail, which the Kremlin denies. Markelov said the turbine that had been serviced in Canada had not yet returned to Russia. The story continues “It was sent to Germany, not Russia, without Gazprom’s consent,” he said, adding that this creates risks of sanctions. Gazprom must also send other turbines from the Portovaya compressor station for repair. “There is no clarity that the maintenance of gas turbine engines will not fall under the sanctions,” Markelov said. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan, David Holmes and Jane Merriman)
