Moscow appears to be resuming gas supplies via Nord Stream after maintenance | Abroad

There were concerns that Moscow would not resume gas shipments after maintenance, or that capacity would drop further. After previous maintenance work in July, Russia has already reduced gas supplies through the pipeline.

According to financial news agency Bloomberg, Russia’s willingness to restart the gas tap shows 20 percent of supply orders. However, these commands do not yet provide any guarantee of actual streams. It usually takes some time before deliveries return to the level planned.

Gas supplies were cut off for three days on Wednesday. This was necessary, according to the Russian gas company Gazprom, to check the only working turbines that help pump gas into the pipeline. According to Gazprom, the turbine must undergo technical maintenance every 1,000 hours. This is about every 42 days. So the next maintenance work will be done in mid-October.

But in Europe, there are doubts about this interpretation and the prevailing view that Russia is using gas supplies as political leverage. However, there is still the possibility that Moscow will turn off gas more often this winter, in response to Western sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Germany has already said it will no longer rely on Nord Stream gas shipments this winter.