No gas for Europe until sanctions are lifted

The Kremlin has stated it will not resume pumping gas until the terms of the sanctions imposed on Moscow are revised.

On Friday, Gazprom completely stopped the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1. The gas monopolist has officially reported an oil leak in one of the pumping station’s turbines. The company has said the sanctions prevent the successful repair and replacement of turbines undergoing maintenance in Canada. Basically, Russia delivered an ultimatum to the West, demanding an end to all restrictive measures introduced by the European Union.

In response, representatives of Siemens, a manufacturer of turbines, have said that such failures had happened before. Moreover, they belong to the type of problems that can and should be eliminated without stopping the pipeline.

In the past few days, gas prices in Europe have fallen to 209 euros per MWh. That’s a third lower than earlier this year, but still 10 times higher than the average price over the past decade. The reason for the fall is Europe has achieved its goal to fill storage facilities by 80%. But this is still not enough to meet all the demands in the winter season. Stable imports are a must for the region. Without them, Europe could face a string of blackouts and energy rationing.