A major natural gas pipeline from Russia to Western Europe was shut down for annual maintenance on Monday, amid concerns in Germany that Russia may not resume gas flows as planned. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany and is the latter’s main source of Russian natural gas. Natural gas is usually sent to other countries as well. It is scheduled to be out of action until July 21 for routine work that the operator says includes “testing of mechanical components and automation systems.” The operator’s data showed that the flow of natural gas was reduced as planned on Monday morning. German officials are suspicious of Russia’s intentions, particularly after Russia’s Gazprom last month cut the flow of natural gas through Nord Stream 1 by 60 percent. Gazprom reported technical problems with a gas turbine powering a compressor station that partner Siemens Energy sent to Canada for overhaul and could not be returned because of sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Canada said over the weekend it would allow delivery of the component to Germany, citing the “very significant difficulties” the German economy would suffer without an adequate supply of natural gas. German politicians rejected Russia’s technical explanation for cutting gas flows last month through Nord Stream 1, saying the decision was a political game to sow uncertainty and push up prices. German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said he suspected Russia might cite “some small technical details” as a reason not to resume gas deliveries through the pipeline after maintenance this month. The head of Germany’s grid regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, said “no one can say exactly” whether natural gas will be switched back on. “We have very different signals from Russia,” Klaus Müller told ZDF broadcaster. “There are Kremlin representatives who say that, combined with the Siemens turbine, they can deliver significantly more again; but there have also been very belligerent messages from the Kremlin.” On Sunday, Ukraine’s energy and foreign ministries said in a joint statement that the return of the Nord Stream 1 turbines “tailors the sanctions regime to Russia’s whims.” Germany and the rest of Europe are trying to fill gas storage in time for the winter and reduce their dependence on Russian energy imports. Germany, which has Europe’s largest economy, supplies about 35% of its natural gas to the electricity industry and power generation from Russia. Last month, Habeck activated the second phase of Germany’s three-stage emergency plan for natural gas supplies, warning that Europe’s biggest economy faced a “crisis” and winter storage targets were at risk. There is also concern in other countries about the impact of recent cuts in Russian supplies via Nord Stream 1 and other routes. French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said at the weekend that a complete cut off of Russian gas supplies was a “credible possibility”. He said France must go into “battle mode” this summer to prepare for winter, when “we will have to make courageous choices” amid possible energy shortages. “We won’t be able to stay warm and act like nothing has changed,” Lemaire said. “We have to plan and organize now, we have to change our habits, reduce our (energy) consumption.” Separately, Italian energy company ENI said Gazprom was cutting gas delivery on Monday by about a third compared to the average of the past few days. ENI said in a statement that Gazprom would supply 21 million cubic meters of natural gas, compared to an average of about 32 million cubic meters. —— Barbara Surk in Nice, France, and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report
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