The Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany had been closed since July 11 for annual maintenance work. Amid rising tensions over Russia’s war in Ukraine, German officials feared the pipeline — the country’s main source of Russian gas, which accounted for about a third of Germany’s gas supplies — might not reopen at all. Operator Nord Stream AG said natural gas started flowing again on Thursday morning, but the flow would take some time to increase, German news agency dpa reported. Deliveries were expected to fall well below the pipeline’s full capacity. Nord Stream said it expected a similar amount of natural gas to that seen before the maintenance. The head of Germany’s grid regulator, Klaus Mueller, said on Twitter that Russia’s Gazprom had notified deliveries on Thursday of only about 30 percent of the pipeline’s capacity. In mid-June, Russia’s state-owned Gazprom cut the flow to 40 percent of capacity. It cited alleged technical problems involving equipment that Siemens Energy’s partner sent to Canada for overhaul and could not be returned due to sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ottawa earlier this month authorized the delivery to Germany of the turbine that powers a compressor station at the Russian end of the pipeline. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent comments about repairs to Gazprom’s turbine were interpreted by many as a threat to cut off Europe’s access to Russian gas. (Alexey Maishev/Sputnik/Kremlin pool/The Associated Press) The German government rejected Gazprom’s technical explanation for the gas cut, repeatedly accusing it of being a pretext for a political decision to sow uncertainty and further increase energy prices. He has said the turbine was a replacement that was not supposed to be installed until September, but that he is doing everything he can to deprive Russia of the pretext to cut supplies. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Gazprom had not yet received the relevant documents to return the turbine – a claim that Gazprom repeated on Wednesday. Putin said Gazprom was due to shut down another turbine for repairs at the end of July, and if the one sent to Canada was not returned by then the gas flow would be further reduced. The head of the European Union’s executive commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday that the turbine was “in transit” and that there was “no excuse not to deliver” natural gas. The Commission has proposed that member states cut their natural gas use by 15 percent in the coming months as the bloc prepares for a possible complete cutoff of Russian gas supplies.
