[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom announced that it will suspend gas supply through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which connects directly to Germany, for three days starting from the 31st of this month. Although the official reason is pipeline maintenance work, it is interpreted as a retaliatory measure against sanctions on Russia, aiming to pressure the West.
According to Russian TASS news agency on the 19th (local time), Gazprom stated in a press release that gas supply through Nord Stream 1 will be suspended for three days from the 31st of this month to the 2nd of next month. Gazprom explained that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will be closed for maintenance at the Portovaya compressor station.
The maintenance is intended for the upkeep and failure prevention of the only currently operating Trent 60 gas compressor, and routine maintenance work will be carried out under the current contract with German Siemens technicians. Furthermore, Gazprom stated that once the maintenance is completed and there are no technical issues, gas supply will resume at the usual rate of 33 million cubic meters per day.
Although it was described as regular maintenance, concerns that Russia’s gas supply pressure will intensify again have struck the European gas market hard. On the same day, the benchmark price for European natural gas, the Dutch TTF futures price, surged to 257.4 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh).
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, it has reduced gas supply as a retaliatory measure against sanctions, exacerbating the energy crisis in Europe. Gazprom had already reduced gas supply through Nord Stream 1, the most important pipeline supplying gas to Europe, to 40% of capacity since mid-June, citing delays in returning pipeline turbines.
Then, on the 27th of last month, Gazprom further cut supply to about 20% of capacity, citing maintenance issues. With the recent announcement of another gas supply suspension due to maintenance, concerns about the energy crisis in Europe are expected to deepen further.
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