Canada sent a turbine for the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany by plane on July 17 after repair work had been completed, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the situation.
The return of Canada’s turbine to Portovaya’s Russian compressor station, a crucial element of Nord Stream, has been the focus for the past month since Russian power producer Gazprom cut its gas supply to Germany .
Europe has experienced a reduction in Russia’s gas supply amid already high energy costs and higher inflation after what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine sparked sanctions on the West against Russia.
Read more: Why does the Canadian turbine return to Gazprom from Russia feeding sparks? This is what we know
Nord Stream 1 is currently in scheduled annual maintenance, which is due to end on July 21 and has completely stopped flows.
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However, there are fears that Russia may extend the working period, disrupting plans to fill European gas storage for the winter and escalate a crisis that has sparked government emergency measures and painfully high bills for to consumers.
The turbine, serviced by Germany’s Siemens Energy, will take another five to seven days to reach Russia if there are no logistics and customs problems, Kommersant reported.
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0:45 Government decision to allow return of turbines to Gazprom “a slap on the people of Ukraine”: Genuis Government decision to allow return turbines to Gazprom “a slap on the people of Ukraine”: Genuis
The newspaper said the turbine would be shipped from Germany by ferry and then transported by land via Helsinki. The team is expected to arrive in Russia around July 24, and preparatory work will take another three to four days, the newspaper reports.
Gazprom said on Saturday that it expected Siemens to meet its obligations in full when it comes to servicing the gas turbines needed for the reliable operation of Nord Stream and power shipments to Europe.
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Germany’s economy ministry said Monday it could not provide details on the whereabouts of the turbine.
Read more: The return of the Gazprom turbine to Germany is a “very difficult” but essential move: Trudeau
But a ministry spokesman said the turbine was a spare part that should only be used from September, meaning its absence could not be the real reason for the drop in gas flows before the maintenance.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov redirected questions to Gazprom. Gazprom and the Russian Ministry of Energy did not respond to requests for comment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday that Ukrainians would “never accept” Canada’s decision to return the turbine, saying the measure violated sanctions.