Russia further decreasing flow of natural gas to Germany

BERLIN — Russia’s stateowned gas monopoly said Monday that it would further reduce the amount of natural gas it sends to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, less than a week after it resumed limited flows after an annual maintenance shutdown.

Flows had already been cut back to 40 percent of capacity, but Gazprom said it would crimp them to 20 percent starting Wednesday, citing problems with one of the powerful turbines that are manufactured by German company Siemens Energy. The turbines build pressure within the pipeline to ship the gas long distances.

In mid-June, Russia started cutting the amount of gas shipped through the 760-mile undersea pipeline, blaming the reduction on a out-of-action turbine that had been shipped to Canada for repairs.

On Monday, Gazprom said on its social media accounts that it was “shutting down one more gas turbine engine produced by

Siemens.”

Germany’s economy ministry has rejected Gazprom’s argument that a damaged turbine was to blame for restrictions in gas flows, saying instead that the cutbacks were another way for Russia to punish Europe for opposing the war in Ukraine.

Germany’s government pushed back against Gazprom’s latest projected cut.

“Based on our information, there is no technical reason for a reduction in deliveries,” the economy ministry said in a statement after Gazprom’s announcement. Observers said the move smacked of President Vladimir Putin’s intention to use Russia’s energy exports as a cudgel to punish and divide European leaders by loosening or tightening the taps as it suits him and his war aims in Ukraine.

European Union energy ministers are meeting in Brussels today to discuss a proposal to get citizens and businesses of the 27member bloc to save energy.

Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany relied on Russia to provide 55 percent of its overall natural gas needs. It has cut that share to 30 percent over the past four months, but it is scrambling to save enough of the fuel to ensure that it will have sufficient stores to get through the winter.

Hours before Gazprom announced the fresh cuts, the head of Germany’s network regulator, Klaus Müller, said the country’s storage facilities had reached 65.9 percent capacity and were therefore “finally back on track.” The goal is for storage to be 75 percent full by the beginning of September.