In a statement posted on Ukraine’s energy ministry website Sunday afternoon, the ministers said they were “deeply disappointed” by Canada’s decision and urged the government to reverse it. In the statement, they added that returning the turbine would be tantamount to adapting the sanctions imposed on Moscow “to Russia’s whims.” Gazprom has blamed the turbines for its decision to halve the flow of natural gas to Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas and recently declared an “alert stage” over looming gas shortages.
Read more: Germans urged to prepare for possible gas shortage amid Russia war
The turbines from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline had been sent to Montreal for a scheduled overhaul, but their return has been complicated by sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine. Germany has pressed Canada to let it return the turbines to Russia despite sanctions and despite Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine. Story continues below ad Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a statement late Saturday that “Canada will grant a time-limited and revocable license to Siemens Canada to allow the return of the repaired Nord Stream 1 turbines to Germany.” This, Wilkinson said in the statement posted on Twitter, will support “Europe’s ability to access reliable and affordable energy as it continues to move away from Russian oil and gas.” He said that “in the absence of the necessary supply of natural gas, the German economy will suffer very significant difficulties.” Siemens says it will seek to get the turbine back as soon as possible. “The policy decision on exports is a necessary and important first step towards the delivery of the turbine. Currently, our experts are working intensively on all further official approvals and logistics,” Siemens Energy said in a statement. Trending Stories
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“Among other things, this includes legally required export and import control procedures. Our goal is to get the turbine to its operating location as quickly as possible,” he added.
Read more: Germany activates gas ‘alert stage’ amid Russian ‘economic attack’
Siemens Energy said when Gazprom began cutting gas flows in mid-June that it was unable to return to customer Gazprom a gas turbine powering a compressor station on the pipeline that had been repaired after more than 10 years of operation. Story continues below ad German politicians rejected the Russian explanation for the 60 percent reduction in gas flows through Nord Stream 1, saying the equipment should not have been a major issue until the fall and the Russian decision was a political game to sow uncertainty and push up prices. “We should not kid ourselves: The cut in gas supplies is an economic attack on us by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement last month, adding that Germans should reduce consumption. Hopefully, gas rationing will be avoided, but it cannot be ruled out, Habeck said and warned: “From now on, natural gas is a scarce commodity in Germany… Therefore, we are now obliged to reduce our gas consumption, already in the summer.”
Read more: G7 likely to talk Russian turbine on German gas pipeline stuck in Canada: minister
The Canadian move comes before Nord Stream 1 shuts down for annual maintenance on Monday. In previous summers, the work led to shutdowns of about 10 days, but German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said he suspected Russia might cite “some minor technicalities” as a reason for not resuming gas deliveries. The reduction in natural gas flows comes as Germany and the rest of Europe try to reduce their dependence on Russian energy imports. Germany, which has Europe’s largest economy, gets about 35 percent of its natural gas for its electricity industry and power generation from Russia. Story continues below ad 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. With files from the Associated Press. 2:12 Germany warns of gas rationing if Russia shuts off the taps Germany warns of gas rationing if Russia shuts off the taps – March 30, 2022
