No solution at the moment on problem of equipment for Nord Stream - Miller

MOSCOW. June 16 (Interfax) - There is no solution thus far on restoration of the volume of gas supplies to Germany via Nord Stream, as Siemens cannot take delivery of equipment for the Portovaya compressor station from Canada due to sanctions, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2022).

"When Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 were being built, everyone was proud of the trans-European scale. Germany and German companies are shareholders, so a large part of the equipment is from the German company Siemens. The equipment has an interrepair life, and it turns out that Siemens has only one plant where these engines can be repaired, and it's in Canada," Miller said, asking "is it an accident or not?"

Canada imposed sanctions on Gazprom, although the company does not operate in this country, Miller said. The restrictions do not allow Siemens to ship equipment from there, Miller added.

"The engine is lying at the plant, Siemens cannot take it away, and other engines are not all suitable at the moment that an overhaul has to be done. And you can't send it to Canada or to another plant. Is this sanctions entanglement, or the answer to the question, why was this done? And then perhaps the purpose of the sanctions is broader, and we need to think about why and by whose hand this is done," the Gazprom chief said.

"There is no decision on the Portovaya compressor station right now. We have reduced gas supplies to Europe by dozens of percent, but prices have increased severalfold. If I say that we are just fine with that, I would not be dishonest," Miller said.