by Nina Chestney and Vera Eckert
LONDON/FRANKFURT, July 11 (Reuters) – Annual maintenance operations for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, the main supply route linking Russia to Western Europe, began on Monday for a period of ten days with a disruption in gas deliveries that governments, markets and companies fear will be prolonged by the war in Ukraine.
Russia last month cut flows through the pipeline to Germany by 40%, citing delays in repairing equipment by Siemens Energy in Canada.
Ottawa said over the weekend that it would return the turbines needed to maintain Nord Stream 1, while announcing new sanctions against Russia’s energy sector.
Europeans fear that Russia will use Nord Stream 1 maintenance operations to further cut its gas supplies, which would cast a shadow over winter supply plans and amplify a shortage that has prompted governments to take emergency action and increased bills for consumers.
In Berlin, the hypothesis was raised that Moscow would suspend gas deliveries via Nord Stream 1 beyond July 21, the date on which maintenance operations must be completed.
“Given the trends we’ve seen, it wouldn’t be very surprising if a small technical detail were found and then they could say ‘we can’t make it work anymore’,” said the German minister for Economy, Robert Habeck, during an event organized at the end of June.
The Kremlin denies using oil and gas for political purposes. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said stopping deliveries due to maintenance was a regular and scheduled operation, adding that no one was “inventing” any repairs.
Moscow halted gas deliveries to several European countries after they refused to comply with its request to make payments in rubles, amid Western sanctions against the Russian economy following the offensive in Ukraine, launched on February 24.
“The last few months have shown one thing: (Russian President Vladimir) Putin knows no taboos. A complete halt to gas deliveries via Nord Stream can therefore not be ruled out,” said Timm Kehler, CEO of Zukunft Gas, German industry association.
Such a scenario would have the effect of prolonging the surge in gas prices in Europe, with serious consequences for businesses and households. It would also impact Russia, which would lose a source of revenue.
(Report Nina Chestney in London and Vera Eckert in Frankfurt, with Tom Kaekenhoff, Steve Scherer, Toby Sterling, Miranda Murray and Riham Alkousaa; French version Jean Terzian)