BERLIN — Russia’s state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom said on Monday it would further reduce the amount of natural gas it sends to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, less than a week after resuming limited flows after an annual shutdown for maintenance.
Flows had already been reduced to 40% of capacity, but Gazprom said that it would reduce them to 20% from Wednesday, citing problems with one of the powerful turbines made by the German company Siemens Energy. The turbines create pressure in the pipeline to ship gas over long distances.
In mid-June, Russia began cutting the amount of gas shipped through the 760-mile undersea pipeline, blaming the reduction on a missing turbine that had been shipped to Canada for repair.
Monday, Gazprom said on his social media accounts that he was “stopping another gas turbine engine produced by Siemens”.
Germany’s economy ministry has consistently dismissed Gazprom’s argument that a damaged turbine was to blame for the gas flow restrictions, saying instead the cuts were another way for Russia to punish Europe for opposing the war in Ukraine.
The government in Berlin has pushed back on the latest planned reduction of Gazprom.
“Based on our information, there are no technical reasons for a reduction in deliveries,” Germany’s economy ministry said in a statement following Gazprom’s announcement.
Observers said the move evokes President Vladimir V. Putin’s intention to use Russia’s energy exports as a stick to punish and divide European leaders by loosening or tightening the taps as he sees fit and as he sees fit. its war aims in Ukraine.
“Gazprom’s announcement should come as no surprise,” said Simone Tagliapietra, senior researcher at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank. “Russia is playing a strategic game here. Already weak fluctuating flows are better than a complete shutdown because they manipulate the market and optimize the geopolitical impact.
European Union energy ministers meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss a proposal to get citizens and businesses in the 27-member bloc to save energy. But divisions have emerged as countries not heavily dependent on Russian gas, such as Greece and Spain, have chafed at the prospect of having to cut consumption to help Germany, their wealthy northern partner.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany relied on Russia to supply 55% of its global natural gas needs. He’s reduced that share to 30% in recent months, but is trying to save enough fuel to ensure he’ll have enough reserves to get through the winter.
Hours before Gazprom announced the new cuts, the head of Germany’s grid regulator Klaus Müller said the country’s storage facilities had reached 65.9% capacity and were therefore “finally back on tracks”. The goal is for storage to be 75% full by early September.
Gazprom’s announcement should have made all members of the European Union realize how crucial it is that they act quickly and decisively to start saving gas, Tagliapietra said. “Action on this can no longer be delayed.”