Flows were 13 million kWh/h between 13:00 and 2:00 CET on Friday, up from 14.48 million kWh/h the previous hour. Applications for today and Saturday remain steady at 14.574 million kWh/h, according to Nord Stream flow data.
Earlier on Friday, natural gas flows were steady on the Nord Stream pipeline, which is now sending gas from Russia to Europe at just 20% of its capacity.
Benchmark gas prices in Europe have soared to record highs in recent weeks after Russia said gas supplies via Nord Stream would be cut to just 20% of the pipeline’s capacity, days after Gazprom restarted the pipeline in late July at 40% regular maintenance of 10 days. The Russian explanation for the 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.
There is little Russia can do to help repair equipment at Nord Stream’s compressor stations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month.
Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz again blamed Russia, saying the turbine was ready for work and Germany was ready to send it. Scholz was pictured by Reuters standing next to the turbine during his visit to Siemens Energy’s construction site in Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany.
“It’s quite clear and simple: the turbine is there and it can be delivered, but someone has to say ‘I want to have it,’” Soltz said, as reported by Reuters.
Germany and the EU are bracing for further cuts in Russian gas supplies ahead of winter, even if the turbine reaches Russia.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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