Russia claims that the reason is technical problems. In Europe, technical problems are considered an excuse.
18:43•Updated 18:58
Russian energy giant Gazprom announces that it will reduce gas supplies in the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
Gazprom says it will shut down one gas turbine for maintenance work, and because of this, gas deliveries will decrease.
From the day after tomorrow, Wednesday, daily gas deliveries will decrease to 33 million cubic meters. The full capacity of the pipe is 160 million cubic meters per day.
Russia’s state-owned Gazprom reduced gas supplies from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by 60 percent already in mid-June. Only 40 percent of full capacity has been delivered through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline since it opened after a maintenance break last week.
According to Gazprom, the reductions are related to technical problems. One problem was the turbine sent to Canada for repair, which has not been transported back to Russia due to sanctions. The turbine is currently in Germany.
Germany, which is dependent on Russian gas, has not believed Gazprom’s and Russia’s explanations that deliveries had been reduced due to technical problems. According to Germany, it is an excuse that Russia is using to create instability in the energy market.
The Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline runs from Russia at the bottom of the Baltic Sea to Germany.