Gas prices in Germany soar after Gazprom shuts down Nord Stream 1 indefinitely

A plan to resume gas flowing through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was scrapped by the Russian state-owned energy corporation Gazprom, which did not indicate when normal operations would be resumed.

Due to routine maintenance, Gazprom will stop gas flows through the pipeline between Aug. 31 and Sept. 2. This temporary shutdown will last three days, according to the company. It was expected that normal operations would resume at 0100 GMT on Saturday.

A critical turbine in Gazprom's industrial complex still had an oil leak, which prevented the company from restarting gas deliveries safely on Friday. We do not know when gas supplies will resume.

“Gazprom’s announcement this afternoon that it is once again shutting down NorthStream1 under fallacious pretenses is another confirmation of its unreliability as a supplier. It’s also proof of Russia’s cynicism, as it prefers to flare gas instead of honoring contracts,” European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer said in a Sept. 2 post on Twitter.

According to Siemens, Nord Stream 1 can continue to operate at the station where the leak was discovered due to the presence of other turbines. Currently, the company is not contracted to perform pipeline maintenance, but is ready to help if needed.

3 Sep 2022