Deep concern and fears of a permanent disruption to the flow of natural gas to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline caused the European Union the Russian decision to temporarily close for ten days, until July 21, all flow.
Russia’s Gazpom attributed the decision to the need to maintain the pipeline, which consists of a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea that carry gas from Vyborg in northwestern Russia, near Finland, to Lubmin, a city located in state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-east Germany and from there, again by pipelines, to other destinations in Western Europe.
Nord Stream 2, which starts from the Russian city of Ust-Luga in the same region, ends in the same city, but was not certified after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Nord Stream 1, which transports 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, is owned by Nord Stream AG, the majority of whose shares are controlled by GAZPROM, whose subsidiary is the company that manages Nord Stream 2, which has the same capacity. In 2021 the pipeline transported 59.2 billion cubic meters, about 7.5% more.
Nord Stream 1, which is 1222 kilometers long and is the world’s longest undersea pipeline, was completed and inaugurated in the two years May 2011-October 2012, while Nord Stream 2 was completed in September 2021.
The turbines
In 2009, Siemens Energy supplied Russia with gas turbines for the pipeline’s compression station. These are machines that were made in Canada and had been in use for more than ten years when the issue of repair and maintenance arose, which Siemens said could only be done at its plant in Montreal, Canada.
In Canada
This equipment had been in Canada for two years when the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place. Almost immediately, Canada joined the sanctions imposed on Russia, making it impossible to deliver it to the Russians after repairs were completed.
The issue was raised last June at the summit of the world’s seven most powerful countries by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who reportedly pressed the Canadian prime minister to allow the return of the equipment. Soltz, like other Western leaders, appeared puzzled over whether the cuts that reduced the flow to 40 percent were a technical issue due to repairs or a political choice.
Last Saturday, the Canadian government announced that it would issue a time-limited and revocable permit to exempt the return of the turbines from sanctions in Russia and maintain the exemption for two years.
And while everyone thought that the discussion was about one turbine, a press representative of the Minister of Natural Resources revealed that there were six turbines.
The decision sparked backlash in Canada, as the conservative opposition called it a major override of decisions by governments around the world to punish and isolate the Putin regime. The World Ukrainian Congress, based in Ottawa, Canada, called the decision on the exemption illegal and unjustified and appealed to the supreme court asking for it to be annulled.
At the same time, Ukraine expressed its government’s dismay at the two-year exemption, saying revenues from gas and oil directly support the Russian military. “If Gazprom gets what it wants, it will be a dangerous precedent,” he said.
The Russian company has another version
But, at the same time, the Russian company gave another version, denying with an official statement all those who accused Canada of violating the sanctions:
“Gazprom does not have any documents allowing Siemens to take the gas turbine engine out of Canada. Under these circumstances, it is not possible to draw an objective conclusion regarding the development of the situation regarding the full safe operation of the pipeline.”
Indeed, when it was announced that Nord Stream 1 would be shut down for ten days, from July 11 to 21, the prevailing interpretation in Berlin was that the pipeline would never reopen.
Worry and fears were exacerbated by the 40% cut in flows to Italy, which coincided with the removal of confidence in the Draghi government by the “Five Star” movement, which has been accused of being dependent on Moscow. The presidents of the French and Italian employers’ organizations Medef and Confidustria, Geoffrey Roux de Béziers and Carlo Bonomi respectively, came to the conclusion that the flows will not be repeated, who in a joint letter to President Macron and Prime Minister Mario Draghi invited them to “announce unpopular measures” to prepare public opinion for a “complete cut” of Russian gas that will result in higher prices.
“It is clear that we will not have any more Russian gas by the end of the year, either by our choice or by the Russians’ choice,” Mr de Béziers said in a completely different political context than that of politicians trying, at best , to postpone the effects of the energy crisis into the future.
For example, in the truth demanded by French and Italian employers, Germans and Austrians juxtapose solidarity between member countries in which they include mutual support in the use of natural gas storage facilities, diversification of natural gas supply and transit also in case of gas shortage. However, the two countries probably share the employers’ apparently unfavorable assessment of the end of the year, because in the joint statement of the two finance ministers, they also call on “all EU member states to conclude all outstanding solidarity agreements as soon as possible and, if possible, before October 2022.”
