Russia deepens Europe's energy squeeze with new gas halt
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[August 31, 2022] By
Christoph Steitz and Nina Chestney
FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Russia halted
gas supplies via Europe's key supply route on Wednesday, intensifying an
economic battle between Moscow and Brussels and raising the prospects of
recession and energy rationing in some of the region's richest
countries.
European governments fear Moscow could extend the outage in retaliation
for Western sanctions imposed after it invaded Ukraine and have accused
Russia of using energy supplies as a "weapon of war". Moscow denies
doing this and has cited technical reasons for supply cuts.
Russian state energy giant Gazprom said Nord Stream 1, the biggest
pipeline carrying gas to its top customer Germany, will be out for
maintenance from 0100 GMT on Aug. 31 to 0100 GMT on Sept. 3.
The president of the German network regulator said Germany was now
better prepared for the outages as its gas storage was nearly 85% filled
and it was securing supplies from other sources.
"We can take gas from the storage in the winter, we are saving gas (and
need to keep doing so!), the LNG terminals are coming, and thanks to
Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway (and soon France), gas is flowing,"
Klaus Mueller said on Twitter.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Aug/31/images/ads/current/graue_sda_FAIR_2022.png)
Further restrictions to European gas supplies would deepen an energy
crunch that has already triggered a 400% surge in wholesale gas prices
since last August, squeezing consumers and businesses and forcing
governments to spend billions to ease the burden.
In Germany, inflation soared to its highest in almost 50 years in August
and consumer sentiment soured as households brace for a spike in energy
bills.
LOWER SUPPLIES
Unlike last month's 10-day maintenance for Nord Stream 1, the latest
work was announced less than two weeks in advance and is being carried
out by Gazprom rather than its operator.
Moscow, which slashed supply via the pipeline to 40% of capacity in June
and to 20% in July, blames maintenance issues and sanctions it says
prevent the return and installation of equipment.
Russia said on Wednesday the German government, not the Kremlin, was
doing everything it could to ruin its energy relations with Moscow.
Gazprom said the latest shutdown was needed to perform maintenance on
the pipeline's only remaining compressor at the Portovaya station in
Russia, saying the work would be carried out jointly with Siemens
specialists.
Siemens Energy, which has carried out maintenance work on compressors
and turbines at the station in the past, said on Wednesday it was not
involved in the maintenance but stood ready to advise Gazprom if needed.
Russia has also stopped supplying Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, the
Netherlands and Poland, and reduced flows via other pipelines since
launching what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
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![](../images/083122PIX/busine51.jpg)
Pipes at the landfall facilities of the
'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March
8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jul/22/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
Gazprom said on Tuesday it would also suspend gas deliveries to its French
contractor because of a payments dispute, which France's energy minister called
an excuse, but added that the country had anticipated the loss of supply.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, on a mission to replace Russian gas
imports by mid-2024, earlier this month said Nord Stream 1 was "fully
operational" and there were no technical issues as claimed by Moscow.
'ELEMENT OF SURPRISE'
The reduced flows via Nord Stream have complicated efforts across Europe to save
enough gas to make it through the winter months, when governments fear Russia
may halt flows altogether.
"It is something of a miracle that gas filling levels in Germany have continued
to rise nonetheless," Commerzbank analysts wrote, noting the country has so far
managed to buy enough at higher prices elsewhere.
In the meantime, some Europeans are voluntarily cutting their energy
consumption, including limiting their use of electrical appliances and showering
at work to save money while companies are bracing for possible rationing.
With storage tanks filled in 83.65%, Germany is already close to its 85% target
set for Oct. 1, but it has warned reaching 95% by Nov. 1 would be a stretch
unless companies and households slash consumption.
European Union as a whole reached 80.17% of its storage capacity, already ahead
of the 80% target set for Oct. 1, when the continent's heating season starts.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs said their base scenario was that the latest Nord
Stream 1 outage would not be extended.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Aug/31/images/ads/current/friendshipmanor_sda_FOOTBALL_2022.png)
"If it did, there would be no more element of surprise and reduced revenues,
while low flows and the occasional drop to zero have the potential to keep
market volatility and political pressure on Europe higher," they said.
(Reporting Nina Chestney and Christoph Steitz; Additional reporting by Matthias
Inverardi, Bharat Govind Gautam and Eileen Soreng; Editing by Veronica Brown,
Carmel Crimmins, Lincoln Feast and Tomasz Janowski)
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