Russia Resumes Gas Flow to Europe via Nord Stream 1 Pipeline

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, on March 8, 2022. Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters

Russian natural gas began flowing again through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline on July 21 after a planned 10-day shutdown, the pipeline’s operator has confirmed.

Nord Stream 1 is the largest single pipeline carrying Russian gas to Germany, and transports 55 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year under the Baltic Sea.

Operator Nord Stream AG began annual maintenance on July 11. A spokesperson confirmed to multiple news outlets that gas flows had resumed, although it’s unclear at what capacity.

In an emailed statement to CNBC, the spokesperson said that the company is “in process of resuming gas transportation” and that “it can take some hours to reach the nominated transport volumes.”

Meanwhile, the president of Germany’s Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, wrote on Twitter that the pipeline was running at about 30 percent capacity early on July 21, an amount he noted was guaranteed for two hours.

In a second post on Twitter, Müller wrote that gas flows would likely reach around 40 percent on July 21 but noted that “unfortunately, the political uncertainty and the 60% cut from mid-June remain.”

Welcome Relief

The resumption of gas flows through the pipeline will no doubt bring welcome relief to European officials, who had previously braced themselves for the possibility of further supply cuts and had been searching for alternative suppliers to Russian gas.

Russia has cut off gas supplies to several European countries that failed to comply with President Vladimir Putin’s demand for payment in rubles.

The European Union is dependent on Russian gas, which represented 40 percent of the EU’s total gas imports in 2021, or about 155 bcm of natural gas.

That dependency rose to 65 percent in Germany in 2020, and disruptions to supply could further exacerbate the current energy crisis across Europe and drive consumer prices higher still, raising the risk of an economic recession. Meanwhile, Germany has vowed to reduce its dependence on Russian energy owing to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

On July 20, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused the Kremlin of using energy as a “weapon,” while also asking EU member states to cut consumption of natural gas by 15 percent at a minimum until next spring.

“Russia is blackmailing us. Russia is using energy as a weapon. And therefore in any event, whether a partial major cut-off of Russian gas or a total cut-off of Russian gas, Europe needs to be ready,” von der Leyen wrote on Twitter, adding that the EU has “ already done a lot to prepare” and that gas storage is at 64 percent.

The Kremlin has denied such claims and maintains that Russia is a reliable energy supplier and “strictly fulfills all its obligations” to Europe.

“Gas supply from other sources has increased by 75 percent compared to last year,” von der Leyen continued. “And since the beginning of the year, an estimated additional 20 GW of renewable energy capacity have been added.”

The commission president said EU countries “should do their best now to save 15 percent of annual gas consumption.”

According to the proposed regulation (pdf), released July 20, it would set an initial 15 percent reduction in natural gas usage between Aug. 1 and March 31, 2023.

“We are providing guidance to do that, in a smart way. Right now, the goal is aspirational,” von der Leyen said. “In case of a European alert, the 15 percent are binding. The quicker we act, the more we save, the safer we are.”