Due to a delay in equipment maintenance, Russia’s Gazprom warned on Tuesday that it will cut natural gas delivery via the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany by 40% compared to scheduled flows, bringing European gas prices up 13%.
On its Telegram channel today, Gazprom stated that Siemens had delayed the return of gas compressor units from repair, and that technical challenges had stopped it from sending the scheduled amounts of natural gas to Europe’s largest gas connection. According to Gazprom, only three compressor units may now be used to export gas westward from the Portovaya compressor plant in the Baltic Sea.
According to the Russian gas giant, gas supplies to the Nord Stream gas pipeline may now be given in amounts of up to 100 million cubic meters per day, compared to a projected capacity of 167 million cubic meters per day.
The reduced supply of gas via Nord Stream to Europe’s largest economy, Germany, drove European gas prices soaring by double digits on Tuesday, with the gas price at the Dutch TTF hub, Europe’s benchmark gas price, climbing by 13% and UK gas prices rising by 11% around midday in Europe.
Russian gas deliveries to Europe, excluding nations already cut off from Russian gas, have already been reduced since Ukraine cut off flows from Russia to Europe at the Sokhranivka junction last month.