Russian energy giant Gazprom announced on Friday that gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will be halted for three days at the end of August.
The pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, is set to be shut down for maintenance from August 31 to September 2. “Upon completion of work and in the absence of technical malfunctions, gas transport will be restored at the level of 33 million cubic meters per day,” Gazprom said in a statement.
European gas prices closed at a record high on Friday after Gazprom announced the planned maintenance, the AFP news agency reported.
Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine triggered an energy crisis across Europe, which has particularly affected Germany due to its dependence on Russian gas. During the summer of 2022, Gazprom repeatedly reduced gas flows through Nord Stream 1, leaving the pipeline operating at just 20 percent of its full capacity. The company blamed the reductions on the “untimely return” of a turbine sent to Canada for repairs and on technical problems with the pipeline’s one remaining turbine.
