View of the Lakhta Center business tower, the headquarters of the Russian Gazprom gas monopoly in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 27, 2022. Dmitri Lovetsky / The Associated Press
Russia’s state-controlled natural gas producer warns European customers it can’t guarantee future gas deliveries even after Canada evaded its own sanctions on Moscow for sending a repaired turbine to a pipeline key that is sent to Germany.
Critics of Canada’s decision to release the Russian-owned turbine, contrary to its sanctions in Moscow, say this shows how futile it was to bend the rules of sanctions.
“Canada was played for a fool,” said NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson.
Russian company Gazprom has told customers in Europe it cannot guarantee gas supplies due to “extraordinary” circumstances, according to a letter seen by Reuters, boosting the stakes in an economic dispute with the West over Ukraine’s invasion of Moscow .
The July 14 letter from the state monopoly on Russian gas said it was retroactively declaring force majeure in supplies since June 14.
Known as the “act of God” clause, force majeure is standard in commercial contracts and explains extreme circumstances that exempt a portion of their legal obligations.
The Ukrainian Congress of Canada (UCC), a group advocating for Canadians of Ukrainian descent, said Gazprom’s maneuver demonstrates why turbine repair for Russia will not prevent the Kremlin from shutting off gas supplies to Europe.
“Gazprom’s force majeure statement regarding Nord Stream 1 is not surprising and is totally predictable,” said Ihor Michalchyshyn, director general of the UCC. “With the Canadian government ceding Russia’s demands, the obvious lesson for the Kremlin is to make more and more demands. As the UCC has previously stated, the Canadian government’s decision to violate its own sanctions and return Russian turbines will have “Russia only responds by force.”
Earlier this month, Canada announced that it had reached an agreement to allow the import, repair and re-export of Russian turbines that help propel gas along the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline that serves Germany and other European countries. The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed an extraordinary permit allowing Siemens Energy in Montreal to service Russian turbines despite sanctions on Gazprom, the majority owner of Nord Stream.
Trudeau defended the decision to violate Canada’s sanctions, a move that has angered Ukraine, saying it did not want Canada to be responsible for natural gas disruptions to European customers.
Russia last month cited the delayed return of natural gas turbine equipment, which Siemens Energy had been lending to Canada, as a reason why it decided to reduce the flow of natural gas through Nord Stream 1. The pipeline, which sends gas to Germany from Russia. , was reduced to 40 percent of capacity. It has since been closed for annual maintenance.
A parliamentary committee is ready to examine Mr’s decision soon. Trudeau to allow Canada to import and repair turbines owned by the Russian government for up to two years after members last week voted to call Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, to explain the conduct of Canada. .
Conservative foreign critic Michael Chong said the prime minister “set a dangerous precedent” by agreeing to continue repairing and exporting Russian turbines, a deal that appears to have had no effect on gas shipments.
“Canadians and Europeans are now learning that despite assurances from the Canadian and German governments that evading sanctions and returning Russian gas turbines was necessary to keep gas flowing, Russia’s own Gazprom can cut off gas in Germany from all ways, ”Mr. said Chong.
He said Canada must find a way to export natural gas to Europe as soon as possible.
“The only way forward is for Canada to become a reliable security partner for our European allies by approving and accelerating new liquefied natural gas pipelines and terminals so that Canadian natural gas can displace the supply of liquefied natural gas. ‘Russian energy in Europe and cut the money they finance. Putin’s war machine.’
According to a Russian media outlet, the first Nord Stream gas turbine launched by Canada has arrived in Europe.
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 gas supplies to Russia amid already high energy costs and higher inflation after what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine sparked Western sanctions against Russia.
Nord Stream 1 is currently in scheduled annual maintenance, which is due to end on July 21 and has completely stopped flows.
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, served by Germany’s Siemens Energy, will need another five or seven days to reach Russia if there are no problems with logistics and customs, Kommersant reported.
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.
Germany’s economy ministry said Monday it could not provide details on the whereabouts of the turbine.
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 of 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 Zelensky 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.
More to come.
With Reuters files