Russia will shut down Nord Stream 1 from 11 to 21 this month for annual summer maintenance. German political circles have recently worried that Russia will take the opportunity to cut off gas and sabotage Germany’s pre-winter gas storage plan.
Russian natural gas market expert Ji Ivan Monin said that due to the news of the temporary closure, the gas supply of the “North Stream No. 1” natural gas pipeline may drop to 1.3 billion cubic meters in July, a drop of nearly 60% compared with June. Data show that the gas supply to Europe through the pipeline was 5.4 billion cubic meters in May and 3.2 billion cubic meters in June.
Deutsche Bank said a slowdown in Russian gas supplies was taking a major hit to the European economy and could keep record inflation higher and push Germany into an “imminent” recession.
Yasmin Fahimi, president of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), has warned that German industry could face collapse due to reduced gas supplies from Russia, with sectors including aluminium, glass and chemicals at risk . She believes that the collapse will have a huge impact on the German economy, employment and social environment. She also mentioned that the energy crisis has pushed domestic inflation to record highs and urged the government to set a price ceiling on household energy prices.
However, the German government is worried that domestic energy suppliers are overwhelmed and is considering introducing a “special tax on natural gas prices”. Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Germany was considering revisions to the Energy Security Act in order to prepare for gas supply disruptions while trying to distribute the extra cost of gas importers equally among all gas importers. Consumers, so as not to bring too strong impact on society. He said the relevant draft law will be passed in the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
Robert Habeck (Robert Habeck) mentioned that the government is addressing the soaring costs faced by utilities and customers, and will speed up the switch to liquefied natural gas to wean itself off Russian gas. He also revealed that the German government has leased four floating LNG terminals, and the first two temporary terminals will be opened as soon as the end of the year.
Faced with the unstable supply of Russian natural gas, Habeck has previously criticized that the supply cut is an economic attack launched by Putin on Germany, and the tight supply may lead to more serious turmoil, and compared the current situation to the financial crisis caused by Lehman Brothers in 2008. role in times of crisis.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov.
As the haze of natural gas shortages pervades Germany, RIA Novosti reported that this annual maintenance work in Russia has been planned in advance, and the schedule has also been negotiated with upstream and downstream partners. The maintenance of “North Stream No. 1” involves testing mechanical components, Automation systems, etc., to ensure reliable, safe and efficient operation of natural gas pipelines.
A similar incident of distrust occurred last month. On June 15th and 16th, Gazprom only reached about 40% of the technical capacity of pipeline transportation. Faced with German accusations of deliberately curtailing gas, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that the cut in deliveries was not planned, but was caused by turbine maintenance problems. Siemens mentioned earlier that a gas turbine repaired in Canada could not be shipped back on time due to sanctions against Russia. The unnamed source also said another turbine that was being serviced also could not be sent overseas for maintenance because of the sanctions.