German data showed that on Monday, for the first time since the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was shut down three weeks ago, German customers made a brief reservation for capacity to accept Russian gas, but this was later changed, and no gas has been flowing.
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European gas buyers show brief interest in shuttered Nord Stream gas
It wasn't immediately clear why purchasers had requested capacity when Russia had shown no indication that the line will reopen any time soon after being shut down.
Before the conflict in Ukraine, Russia provided roughly 40% of the gas for the European Union. According to Russia, Moscow shut down the pipeline because Western sanctions made it difficult to operate. Politicians in Europe claim it is a ruse and charge Moscow of using energy as a weapon. Before the conflict in Ukraine, Russia provided roughly 40% of the gas for the European Union. According to Russia, Moscow shut down the pipeline because Western sanctions made it difficult to operate. Politicians in Europe claim it is a ruse and charge Moscow of using energy as a weapon.
Reuters was informed by Nord Stream AG that it was unable to confirm the nominations or requests for gas made over the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for Monday.
Nominations, or requests for gas, had begun to surface early on Monday to transport gas through the German pipes that link Nord Stream 1 to end users.
A representative for German pipeline operator Gascade, however, said that the nominations had been "renominated" at zero, effectively indicating that no gas is currently flowing via Nord Stream 1.
While nomination requests were not yet visible on the Nord Stream 1 operator's website as of early Monday, nominations were apparent on the websites of the German pipelines that connect Nord Stream 1 to end users.
Energy prices are skyrocketing, and German importers are even considering probable gas rationing, as a result of Nord Stream 1's closure, which has exacerbated Europe's greatest gas supply crisis ever.
By far the largest Russian gas pipeline to Europe, Nord Stream 1 can transport up to 59.2 trillion cubic metres of gas annually.
Siemens Energy
Earlier this month, Nord Stream 1 will not start pumping again until Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) fixed any defective machinery, according to Vitaly Markelov, Deputy Chief Executive of Gazprom (GAZP.MM). At the time, Siemens Energy claimed it was unable to understand the information given by Gazprom.
The information that was communicated to us, according to Siemens, "does not reflect a technical rationale for ceasing operation."
Since the beginning of the year, European gas prices have more than doubled due to a decline in Russian supply.
On Friday, President Vladimir Putin asserted that Russia was to blame for the energy crisis in Europe and said that if the EU needed more gas, it should lift the sanctions preventing the opening of the Nord Stream 2 project.
A year ago, Germany chose not to move forward with Nord Stream 2, which virtually runs parallel to Nord Stream 1. This decision came just days before Russia sent soldiers into Ukraine on February 24.
According to information on the OPAL pipeline website, on September 19 between 8:00 and 9:00 CET, buyers designated 3,652,554 kilowatt hours per hour (kwh/h) of gas to be delivered via Nord Stream 1 to the OPAL gas pipeline in eastern Germany.
Based on information from NEL, buyers for the NEL gas pipeline nominated 14,291,845 kwh/h of gas during the same time frame.
