Russian Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany closed for maintenance

The single biggest pipeline bringing Russian gas to Germany is shut down. Russia said Nord Stream 1 needs maintenance, but some German leaders said to expect some “hiccups” along the way.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline supplies natural gas to Germany. It shuts down annually for maintenance. This year, the maintenance window runs through July 21. Germany is heavily reliant on Russia for its energy needs and typically gets around 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year through the pipeline.

However, 2022 isn’t a typical year. After Russia invaded Ukraine and western countries imposed sanctions, Russia demanded countries pay their energy bills in rubles. Several countries like Poland, Finland and the Netherlands refused, so Russia stopped supplying them energy.

Russia already cut capacity in the Nord Stream 1 down to 40% last month, citing the need to repair a turbine. Canada is returning the repaired turbine, which technically goes against current sanctions, thanks to a “time-limited and revocable permit.”

Now the pipeline is completely shut down. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the country should prepare for the possibility gas flows will not be restored after the scheduled maintenance period. He said people shouldn’t be surprised if Russian authorities “find” a small, technical detail which prevents Nord Stream 1 from delivering fuel again.

“Based on the pattern we’ve seen, it would not be very surprising now if some small, technical detail is found and then they could say, ‘Now we can’t turn it on any more,’” Habeck said.

A Kremlin spokesperson described the shutdown as regular maintenance and that no one was “inventing” repairs.

If Nord Stream 1 remains closed, the economic impact to Germany would be in the range of 200 billion euros, which is why the Bavarian Industry Association is warning of a possible recession. Germany is already in stage two of a three-tier emergency gas plan. The next stage would include government-imposed fuel rationing.

Reuters contributed to this report.