MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kommersant daily, citing people familiar with the situation, reported that Canada shipped a turbine to the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany on July 17 after repair work was completed.
The return of turbines from Canada to Russia’s Portovaya compressor station, a critical component of Nord Stream, has been in the spotlight last month since Russia’s Gazprom Energy Production (MCX:) cut gas supplies to Germany.
Europe has seen a drop in Russian gas supplies amid soaring energy costs and rising inflation, after the invasion that Moscow described as a “special military operation” in Ukraine led to the imposition of several Western sanctions on Russia.
Nord Stream 1 is currently undergoing a planned annual maintenance process, which is scheduled to end on July 21.
Kommersant newspaper reported that the turbine, operated by German energy company Siemens, would take another five to seven days to reach Russia if there were no logistical and customs problems.
According to the newspaper, the turbine will be shipped from Germany by ship and then transported overland via Helsinki. The newspaper reported that the equipment is expected to arrive in Russia around July 24, with preparatory work to continue another three to four days.
Nord Stream AG, the pipeline operator, Gazprom and the Russian Energy Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Siemens Energy declined to comment on Kommersant’s information.
Gazprom said on Saturday that it expects Siemens to fully fulfill its obligations to service gas turbines needed for the reliable operation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and energy shipments to Europe.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Kirsten Donovan; Translated by Dario Fernandez)
