Gazprom complains about gas turbine problems

Nord Stream 1: Gazprom opposes acceptance of gas turbine

Russian energy company Gazprom does not want to accept gas turbines returned from Canada to Europe without any hustle and bustle. According to Vice President Markello, the reason for this is the delivery to Germany instead of Russia directly. Gazprom also criticized communication with Siemens Energy.

Moscow. Russian energy giant Gazprom has complained that problems with gas turbines returning from Canada to Europe persist, following a cut in gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the Baltic Sea. The turbines were brought from Canada to Germany and were not brought directly to Russia without an agreement with Gazprom, Vitaly Markelov, the deputy head of the state-owned company, said Friday on Russian state television channel Rossia-24.

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Russia can now only accept repaired turbines if there are guarantees from the European Union and Great Britain that Western sanctions will not apply. Markelov did not explain why the turbine could not be directly accepted by the Russian side.

The federal government accused Russia of playing the power game on turbines. It is ready to return to Russia. Furthermore, there are no technical reasons for the throttling of gas delivery via Nord Stream 1, it stated in Berlin.

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Markelov said Gazprom wrote 10 letters to Siemens Energy, but only a quarter addressed the issues raised. Details were not given, but the company announced the publication of part of the communication with Siemens Energy. At the moment, only one of the six turbines is being used in the gas compression station, which is critical for Nord Stream 1, Markello said.

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According to TV reports, another turbine is being prepared for repair in Canada. The compressor station also has three turbines that must be repaired on site by Siemens specialists.

The Kremlin said a day earlier that Russia expected an early return of the turbine and its installation. According to Gazprom, the turbine is important for creating the pressure needed to pump the gas. Gazprom has repeatedly accused its contract partner Siemens Energy of not sending the necessary documents and information to repair the machine. Siemens Energy denies Gazprom’s allegations.

Gazprom on Wednesday reduced deliveries via Nord Stream from 1 to 20 percent of maximum capacity because, according to the company, one turbine still had to be serviced. Technical safety regulations were cited as the reason.

rnd/dpa