In order to ensure security of supply in Germany and to prevent bankruptcy, the federal government wants to support the gas company Gazprom Germania with billions.
The former Gazprom subsidiary is already under trusteeship, which ensures energy trading as well as gas transport and the operation of gas storage facilities.
Russia had imposed sanctions on Gazprom Germania because of the intervention of the federal government. In addition, instead of gas from Russia, gas had to be procured elsewhere for a lot of money, which put the company in financial difficulties.
The Russian energy giant Gazprom is reducing the maximum gas delivery volumes through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline to Germany by 40 percent.
The state-owned company announced on Tuesday that the reason was delays in repair work by Siemens Energy. According to Siemens, gas turbines that have been overhauled in Canada cannot currently be delivered to the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 due to the Russian sanctions.
Siemens Energy delivered gas turbines for a compressor station of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in Russia in 2009, the company announced on Tuesday. A turbine is currently being overhauled in Montreal. “Due to the sanctions imposed by Canada, it is currently not possible for Siemens Energy to deliver overhauled gas turbines to customers.” Against this background, the group has informed the Canadian and German governments and is working on a viable solution.
Currently, only up to 100 million cubic meters of gas can be pumped through the pipeline every day – or around 60 percent of the previously planned daily volume of 167 million cubic meters of gas, it said. However, according to Reuters, initially no reduced flow through the North Sea pipeline was observed.
The federal government currently considers the security of gas supply in Germany to be guaranteed.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Economics said on Tuesday in response to the 40 percent reduction in gas supply. “We are monitoring the situation and examining the facts,” said the spokeswoman.
For Germany, Nord Stream 1 is the main supply pipeline with Russian gas. The Yamal-Europe line had previously not been filled.
