The Ottawa government decided on Saturday to send back the German turbines needed to maintain flow in the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. The turbines are currently being maintained in Canada by German Siemens.
“Canada will grant a time-limited and revocable permit for Siemens Canada to allow the return of the refurbished Nord Stream 1 turbines to Germany, to support Europe’s access to reliable and affordable energy while continuing to phase out Russian oil and gas. “, Canadian Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a statement.
Throttle gas supplies
Since mid-June, the Russian energy group Gazprom has reduced gas deliveries via Nord Stream 1 by 60 percent. Russia has claimed that it is due to “technical problems”, something that Germany dismissed as a political ploy to create uncertainty and push up energy prices.
German Business Minister Robert Habeck has warned that the restricted supply of natural gas from Russia could have far-reaching consequences, both for the country’s business community and the heating of German homes this winter, and has likened it to a Lehman effect in the energy system. One of the companies that has been hit hard by the reduced gas supplies is the energy giant Uniper, which on Friday requested support from the German state.
Appeals to Canada
Ukraine has appealed to Canada not to return the turbines to Germany, for onward transport to Gazprom, in order to maintain international pressure on Russia. But Germany says the return of the turbines would deprive Moscow of the possibility of blaming maintenance issues as an excuse to continue to restrict gas supplies via Nord Stream 1.