The situation with the necessary repairs must be resolved, but Russia can do little in this regard, Peskov told Russian reporters on Monday.
The Kremlin has nothing to add to what Gazprom has already said: there are equipment failures that require urgent repairs, and there are additional “artificial difficulties” caused by “illegal sanctions and restrictions,” Peskov added.
Gas turbine maker Siemens Energy, for its part, said it had not received any reports from Gazprom of malfunctions, so it had to assume the equipment was operating normally.
Last week, gas prices in Europe soared to record highs after Russia said gas supplies through Nord Stream would be cut to 20% of the pipeline’s capacity, days after Gazprom restarted the pipeline at 40% after 10 days regular maintenance. The Russian explanation for even lower gas flows to Europe was that another turbine at a compressor station was sent for repair, while the one Canada returned from repairs has not yet been installed.
Russia’s Gazprom announced this weekend that it had cut gas supplies to Latvia “due to a violation of the conditions set for the withdrawal of natural gas,” without specifying what the violation was. This made Latvia another EU member state with a supply cut from Russia. Latvia said the Russian move would have little impact on its gas supplies.
Meanwhile, the EU is urging member states and EU consumers to voluntarily reduce gas and energy consumption to give countries the chance to fill gas storage facilities in time for the winter heating season.
As of July 30, EU storage was almost 69% full, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe. Storage in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and biggest buyer of Russian gas, was also above 68%. The aim is for the EU to have full gas storage of 80% by October and preferably 90% by November.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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