Gas pumping via Nord Stream to reduce to 20% of capacity as of Wednesday, another turbine engine out of operation

MOSCOW. July 25 (Interfax) - Gas pumping via Nord Stream will reduce to 20% of its throughput capacity as of Wednesday, Gazprom said in a statement, with Russian President Vladimir Putin having previously warned about this possibility.

"In connection with the end of the time between repairs and maintenance before overhaul - in accordance with the instructions of the Federal Environmental, Industrial, and Nuclear Supervision Service (Rostechnadzor) - and accounting for the technical condition of the turbine engine, Gazprom is halting the operation of another Siemens gas turbine engine at the Portovaya compressor station," Gazprom said.

"Daily output at the Portovaya CS from 7:00 a.m. Moscow time on July 27 will be up to 33 million cubic meters," the Russian company has warned.

Nord Stream is currently operating at 40% capacity, as one of the pipeline's turbines has not returned from an overhaul at a Montreal plant owing to Canadian sanctions. Moreover, the time between overhauls before major maintenance and repairs of the other turbine engines has ended at the Portovaya CS.

European officials in Brussels and Berlin previously reported that the turbine had arrived to Germany from Canada. However, the issues of respective sanctions restrictions imposed by Canada, the European Union, and Britain regarding the unit remain unclear thus far.

The Nord Stream gas pipeline was launched in 2011. In 2021, the pipeline transported 59.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The project participants are Gazprom, Wintershall Dea, Gasunie, E.ON, and Engie.