Russia halts Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline reopening, stoking rationing and recession fears in Europe

State-owned Gazprom said it could not safely restart deliveries until it had fixed an oil leak found in a vital turbine

The decision deepened EU’s difficulties in securing winter fuel, with the bloc accusing Moscow of using gas as an economic weapon

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The landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in Lubmin, Germany. File photo: Reuters

Published: 10:04am, 3 Sep 2022Updated: 10:07am, 3 Sep 2022

Russia has scrapped a Saturday deadline to resume flows via a major gas supply route to Germany, deepening Europe’s difficulties in securing winter fuel, after saying it had found faults in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline during maintenance.

Nord Stream 1, which runs under the Baltic Sea, had been due to resume operating at 0100 GMT on Saturday after a three-day halt for maintenance.

But Gazprom, the state-controlled firm with a monopoly on Russian gas exports via pipeline, said on Friday it could not safely restart deliveries until it had fixed an oil leak found in a vital turbine. It did not give a new time frame.

However, Siemens Energy, which normally services Nord Stream 1 turbines, said such a leak should not stop the pipeline from operating. It also said the Portovaya compressor station, where the leak was discovered, has other turbines for Nord Stream to keep operating.

“Such leaks do not normally affect the operation of a turbine and can be sealed on site. It is a routine procedure within the scope of maintenance work,” the company said.

Moscow has blamed sanctions, imposed by the West after Russia invaded Ukraine, for hampering routine operations and maintenance of Nord Stream 1. Brussels says this is a pretext and the Kremlin is using gas as an economic weapon to retaliate.