The main gas pipeline into the European Union was restarted, seemingly ending months of tense negotiations over whether Vladimir Putin would stop energy deliveries to Germany.
Following the completion of the planned repair work, gas flows through the Nord Stream 1, the primary pipeline connecting Russia and Germany, were observed to resume on schedule on Thursday, according to two sources acquainted with the export strategies.
Experts are relieved because they had worried it would remain offline following its July 11 shutdown as Putin tightened the noose in the spat between Russia and the European Union over the economy.
Analysts worry about electricity rationing and skyrocketing gas prices, thus it is vital to start filling gas storage even in the midst of a summer hot.
However, according to unnamed sources, the pipeline was anticipated to restart operating at a rate below its 160 million cubic meters (mcm) per day capacity.
In the midst of intense tensions between the European Union and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, the pipeline’s operator, the state-owned energy giant Gazprom of Russia, stopped natural gas deliveries to Germany for ten days. Gazprom views these flows as essential for Germany’s industry.
According to Germany’s pipeline authority, other pipelines that pass via Poland and Ukraine are not being used as backup routes to transfer gas as they were in years past during the brief suspension.
More than a third of Russian natural gas exports to the EU go through Nord Stream 1, and last month Gazprom reduced gas supplies over the route to 40% of capacity.
Delays in the return of a turbine that Siemens Energy was maintaining in Canada was given as the official explanation for this.
The restoration of the turbine infuriated Kyiv, which saw it as a breach of the sanctions imposed on Russia and as a way for the vast nation to continue earning massive sums of money from its natural gas exports.
The Wall Street Journal had earlier on Tuesday quoted Johannes Hahn, the European Budget Commissioner, as saying that the European Commission did not anticipate the pipeline to reopen following the repair.
One of the insiders predicted that starting on Thursday, the gas volumes expected via Nord Stream 1 would “return to the levels seen before July 11.”
In a letter last week, Gazprom informed its European customers that it could not guarantee the supply of natural gas and that there would be a period of force majeure beginning on June 14.
A force majeure provision, sometimes known as a “act of God” clause, is used in business contracts and specifies exceptional circumstances that release a party from their legal responsibilities.
According to persons acquainted with the incident, the Kommersant newspaper claimed on Monday that Canada had delivered the turbine to Germany by plane on July 17 once the repairs were finished.
According to one of the sources, it seemed improbable that the turbine would be reinstalled by July 21. Requests for comments from Nord Stream 1 and Gazprom on Tuesday have gone unanswered.