- Another turbine of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will be stopped as of Wednesday.
- The current gas flow is 40% and now it will be half.
- Cross accusations between Western countries and Russia over the energy issue.
The Russian state company Gazprom informed that it will stop another turbine on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany. Thus the gas flow, which is only 40%, would drop to half that number as of Wednesday.
In a new chapter between Russia and the West, gas is once again the focus of conflict. Economic blows from both sides have brought much of the world to the brink. The European Union accuses Russia of energy blackmail while Vladimir Putin’s government claims that the gas supply disruption is due to maintenance problems.
As of Wednesday, the gas output supplied by Gazprom will drop to 33 million cubic meters per day. Which is equivalent to half of the current supply.
Political sanctions on Russia have sharply accelerated the Russian government’s energy transportation response. Further decreases in gas flows would send Germany into recession and lead to further price increases, which would generate more inflation.
Vladimir Putin said that further sanctions against his country would lead to catastrophic energy increases for the whole world
Russia is currently the world’s second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia and the world’s largest exporter of natural gas. Europe depends on 40% of Russia’s gas and 30% of its oil.
Although Gazprom restarted sending gas through Nord Stream 1 last week after a 10-day maintenance period, it only did so at 40% of its capacity. The company based its claim on the non-delivery of a Siemens turbine by Canada, which was later returned to Russia.
In Europe, the Russian state disbelieves this version and from Germany it was maintained that this turbine was not going to be used until September.
