Nord Stream 1 Turbine Not Arrived Yet, A Second Has Defects

The Kremlin said on July 26 that a repaired gas turbine for Nord Stream 1, Russia's biggest gas pipeline to Europe, had not yet arrived after maintenance in Canada and that a second turbine was showing defects.

The EU has repeatedly accused Russia of resorting to energy blackmail, but the Kremlin says the shortfalls have been caused by maintenance issues and the impact of western sanctions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the sanctions against Russia had critically complicated the work of Nord Stream 1, which is reducing gas supplies to Europe to just 20% of its capacity amid maintenance.

Kremlin-owned pipeline gas exporting monopoly Gazprom has said flows would fall to 33 MMcm/d from July 27 – halving the current, already reduced level – because it needed to halt the operation of a gas turbine at a compressor station on instructions from an industry watchdog.