Gazprom has for the first time commented in detail on the alleged problems with the turbines on the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1, which the Russian side cited as the reason for the reduced gas deliveries to Germany. On Friday evening, the company published a lengthy statement by Deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov via Gazprom's Telegram channel. He continues to blame Siemens, as well as the Western authorities and their sanctions, for the 80 percent cut in supplies through the pipeline. At the same time, some of his statements can also be read as a threat for autumn and winter.
For weeks, Gazprom has justified the throttling with a turbine that was being serviced at a Canadian plant owned by Siemens Energy when the war broke out. Only at the request of the German federal government did the Canadian government grant an exemption to return the turbine to the Russians via Germany. But the turbine has not yet reached its destination. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) spoke of a “farce” that one could get the impression that the Russians would prefer not to have the turbine back at all, in order to continue to have an excuse to deliver less gas.
The Gazprom manager is now verbosely trying to blame Germany, Siemens, Canada and Great Britain for the low gas supplies. The amount had to be reduced to 33 million cubic meters per day because only one in six pumping units was operational. In addition, one has a turbine in reserve.
In fact, it can be reconstructed from the reports on the construction of Nord Stream 1 that a total of eight "Trent 60" turbines were delivered by Rolls Royce. Since then, six have always been in use, with two serving as a backup when turbines need to be serviced. The fact that Siemens Energy is now servicing the machines is because the German group had bought the division with the industrial turbines from Rolls Royce.
Gazprom manager Markelov argues that the Trent 60 turbines need to be serviced every 25,000 hours of operation. This roughly corresponds to information from Siemens Energy circles that the maintenance interval is typically between three and four years. According to Markelow, there is a maintenance plan that is also contractually agreed with Siemens. Although Siemens and Siemens Energy are now separate companies, the Gazprom side always speaks only of the former parent company Siemens, which only holds a stake in Siemens Energy.
Gazprom argues that the contract does not provide for the turbine to be returned from Canada via Germany. As a result of this detour, it is now necessary to check whether the EU sanctions could have an impact on the return of these and other turbines. The federal government has already emphasized that the turbine is not affected by the European sanctions because machines for gas imports are expressly excluded. Since the contract was also concluded with an English sub-contractor, British sanctions must also be taken into account, writes Gazprom. There is no contractual relationship with the Canadian subsidiary Siemens Energy Canada, but the Canadian authorities have issued an exemption.
In the German Ministry of Economics, all these arguments are considered to be smokescreens. Habeck said he personally had all the documents required for the return in his hand, and that there were no longer any hurdles from the German side.
According to Gazprom, the missing turbine is machine number "073". The Russians say they are concerned that other turbines might not be returned if they are sent to Canada for servicing. According to Siemens Energy, maintenance is only possible at this Canadian location, other plants - for example in Germany - would not have the necessary skills and certifications.
Although documents were received from the German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control, these were not only addressed to the wrong company in Gazprom's extensive network of companies. "The documents submitted by the German authorities in no way affect the possibility of repair and maintenance by Siemens Energy in relation to other turbines," Gazprom said.
However, the overhaul of other turbines is "crucial to restore normal operation" of the pipeline. Another machine with the number "072" has been ready for delivery to Canada since April. The "074" and "121" turbines also reached the end of their maintenance interval of 25,000 hours in June and July respectively, and the responsible Russian authorities prohibited further operation without an overhaul. It is very important to keep the right maintenance times. From the German point of view, the following sentence can only be understood as a threat: "And this is particularly important for the gas supply in the coming autumn-winter period," writes Gazprom Deputy Markelov.
The machines "075", "076" and "120" are also currently defective, there were eleven emergency shutdowns in May and June. This information cannot be verified. Gazprom wrote several emails to Siemens about this, but only a quarter of the problems were resolved. The Gazprom manager claims that there is no entry ban for Siemens specialists who want to repair the turbines. “We look forward to the arrival of your specialists at the compressor station.” Siemens and the western authorities just need to “solve their problems” as soon as possible, “then the situation with gas supplies to the European market will immediately normalize,” claims Markelov .
"Kick-off Politics" is WELT's daily news podcast. The most important topic analyzed by WELT editors and the dates of the day. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or directly via RSS feed.
