Gazprom appears to be planning to partially restore gas supplies to Germany

Skyscraper Lachta Tsentr in Saint Petersburg, the headquarters of Gazmprom.Image ANP / EPA

Gazprom’s pre-announcement indicates that tomorrow’s delivery will actually exceed the amount of gas that went through the pipeline in the days leading up to the shutdown. In June, Gazprom reduced gas supply through Nord Stream to 40 percent of normal volume, according to the official reading, due to technical problems.

The planned reopening of Nord Stream 1 has been looked forward to with fear and trembling. There were fears that Russia would no longer supply natural gas to Germany at all. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck previously stated that he would not be surprised if the Russians encountered a problem, which would leave the connection permanently closed. The European Commission had also announced that it would not take reopening into account. However, Reuters reported earlier this week that Russia does intend to resume gas supplies.

One of the issues revolved around a number of turbines being held in Canada for repair. Without these turbines, the gas supply cannot be fully resumed, Russia warned. President Putin reiterated on Tuesday that no more than 20 percent of normal volumes of gas would flow to Germany if the problems surrounding the turbines were not resolved.

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