MOSCOW, July 18 (Reuters) – Canada, where a Russian turbine for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline has been repaired, airlifted the equipment to Germany on Sunday, Russian daily Kommersant reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. folder.
According to the newspaper, the repaired turbine, whose maintenance is provided by the German group Siemens Energy, should arrive on Russian soil around July 24, if the delivery does not encounter any logistical or customs problems.
Also according to Kommersant, the turbine should by then be transported by ferry from Germany to Finland, then transferred by land from Helsinki to the Portovaya compressor station in the northwest of Russia, very close to the Finnish border. Three to four days of preparatory work will then be necessary, specifies the newspaper.
The Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany, is subject to annual maintenance until July 21 and the fate of this turbine has been at the heart of various geopolitical tensions in recent weeks.
While Moscow is the target of Western sanctions because of its military offensive in Ukraine, European governments are particularly concerned that this operation will be deliberately extended to disrupt ongoing storage plans for next winter.
Russian gas giant Gazprom has cut gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline since mid-June citing the turbine’s late return for repairs to Canada and the Kremlin said earlier this month that the Europe’s gas supply would be increased if the turbine were returned.
To allow the return of the turbine, Canada had to temporarily waive its sanctions against Russia, with the aim of helping Europe “to have access to reliable and affordable energy while it comes out of its dependence on gas and Russian oil”.
This decision was denounced by the kyiv authorities, who felt that the West had given in to “blackmail” from Russia.
Neither Nord Stream AG, operator of the gas pipeline, nor its parent company Gazprom, nor the Russian Ministry of Energy immediately responded to a request for comment.
Siemens Energy declined to comment on information released by Kommersant.
(Reuters report, edited by Christopher Cushing and Kirsten Donovan, French version Myriam Rivet, edited by Bertrand Boucey)