Russia interrupts gas flow to Germany for ten days for maintenance on Nord Stream 1

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Gas supplies from Russia to Germany will be interrupted from Monday for ten days due to maintenance work on the facilities of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline, the most important connection for natural gas flows to Germany.

Gas will stop flowing at 6 a.m. (local time) this Monday and is scheduled to resume in the early morning hours of July 21.

However, officials are very concerned that supplies may not be restored, due to the war in Ukraine.

Russia’s state-owned Gazprom has already significantly reduced supply volumes through the 1,200-kilometer pipeline between Russia and northern Germany, citing delays in repair work. Moscow attributed the delays to sanctions imposed by the West, an argument rejected by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The pipeline was only being used at 40 percent of its capacity, leading to further price hikes on the gas market, according to the German Federal Network Agency.

The operator has scheduled ten days for the Nord Stream 1 shutdown to check and repair or recalibrate the power supply, fire and gas protection systems and certain valves as needed.

The maintenance work comes at a time when Germany is urgently trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas while filling storage tanks for the coming winter.

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