Since the maintenance work on Nord Stream 1 began, a dispute has arisen over the whereabouts of a gas turbine that was repaired in Canada. Russia repeatedly complained that nothing was known about a shipment – and that it also threatened Europe’s gas supplies. As is now known, the turbine may have already been delivered to Germany – but the question remains whether the schedule can still be maintained. Finally, the transport and assembly of the turbine also takes time.
It’s an uphill battle to use the turbine – Canada hadn’t released it for a long time due to sanctions against Russia. In the end, however, the green light was given – with the detour via Germany.
Russia is working on bogeyman
However, Russia knew how to use the conflict for itself: Gazprom recently stated that it had not received confirmation of the transport. This would jeopardize the planning of maintenance work and thus the gas supply to the west. Moreover, it is not possible to guarantee whether gas can still flow after maintenance of the installation if a threatening background is built up.
Further transport takes a maximum of seven days
After days of puzzling over where the turbine actually is, there is now some light on the matter: As the Russian newspaper “Kommersant” reported, citing people familiar with the processes, it has now arrived in Germany – it had arrived by plane on Sunday.
Germany new scapegoat?
However, if there are no problems with logistics or customs, it will probably take another five to seven days for the turbine to arrive in Russia. If it really took that long, Russia would probably have found another culprit for the shortage of supplies: After Canada and Ukraine – which reportedly have too little gas passage – Germany could also become a scapegoat for propaganda.
Does the gas storage deadline apply?
However, it seems clear that the timetable set by Russia is unlikely to be met. Gazprom wanted to complete the maintenance work on Thursday (July 21), but if the turbine is delivered later, the process will be delayed. It will then also have to become clear whether the deadline of 21 July, so important in Austria, for filling the gas storage tanks can be met.
Scarcity drives prices up
After all, Russia has reduced its deliveries to Europe by at least 60 percent since the start of the maintenance work that was actually planned for ten days – in Austria this was sometimes even 70 percent less than contractually agreed. Due to the shortage, the gas price threatens to rise further.
On Monday, storage tanks in Austria were only about 50 percent full – but EU countries had agreed on a minimum fill level of 80 percent in the fall to get through the cold season.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
