Sanctions hinder Russian gas flow to EU – Gazprom

Western sanctions could obstruct Siemens Energy from carrying out regular maintenance of equipment for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said on Wednesday.

“Our opponents have issued so many sanctions-related documents that they created a situation which could be called sanctions confusion,” Miller told Russia 1 TV. “And today Siemens has practically no opportunity to provide regular major overhauls of our gas-pumping equipment. Siemens simply has nowhere to carry out this work.”

German manufacturer Siemens Energy, which normally services the turbines, said earlier on Wednesday it was not involved in the latest maintenance work being carried out by Gazprom at the compressor station. Russian gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany have been suspended from August 31 until September 3 for repairs.

Since July, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been operating at reduced capacity due to the shutdown of several gas turbines. One of them was sent to Montreal for repairs and became stuck there due to Canadian sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. At Germany’s request, Ottawa announced an exemption for the turbines in July, and sent one of them over, but Gazprom refused to take delivery, citing irregularities in the documentation.

Gazprom has cited faulty or delayed equipment as the main reason for the 80% reduction of deliveries via the pipeline. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that only sanctions prevent Nord Stream 1 from working at full capacity.

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