A day after announcing that Nord Stream 1 will not reopen for supplies, citing leakages, Gazprom on Saturday stated that it would ship 42.7 million cubic metres (mcm) of natural gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point.
However, according to experts, the quantity will not be enough to make up for the supplies that were expected to be pumped through the pipeline.
Read more: Russian energy giant Gazprom halts Nord Stream 1 gas supplies for maintenance
As reported extensively by WION, Gazprom, the Russian-state-owned gas company, on Friday announced that the pipeline will not open on Saturday, after the three-day maintenance period that started on August 31.
In a statement, Gazprom indicated it had discovered “oil leaks” in a turbine during a planned three-day maintenance operation and that “until it is repaired… the transport of gas via Nord Stream is completely suspended”.
Read more: Russia: Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, due to reopen on weekend, will remain shut
The pipeline which runs from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea is the lifeline of the European countries. Despite being against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, the European countries remain toothless against Moscow which has used its position of energy dominance to circumvent the sanctions.
WATCH | Gazprom to pay Kremlin $9.94 billion, Russian government owns 49.3% shares
Consequently, the energy demand is likely to go up in winter which is just months away. The gas prices in an energy-starved Europe have already sky-rocketed, hurting the industry and households, surging first due to recovering demand after the pandemic and then rising further because of the Ukraine crisis.
Furthermore, many countries in the 27-nation bloc fear that Russia may not resume the supplies in the foreseeable future as well.
While Europe prepares for a frigid and bitter winter, Gazprom has already made a staggering profit of $41.75 billion, in the first six months of 2022 alone.
Read more: Gazprom makes $41.75 billion in profits in first six months, announces dividend for shareholders
(With inputs from agencies)
WATCH WION LIVE HERE:
