Russia’s Gazprom to shut Nord Stream 1 pipeline for three days
Al JazeeraRussia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom has said a key pipeline conveying natural gas to Europe will shut down for three days at the end of this month to undergo “routine maintenance.” The unscheduled maintenance order on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, deepens an energy standoff between Moscow and Brussels which has already helped send inflation surging in the region and raised the risk of rationing and recession. Germany has already had to give Uniper, the country’s largest importer of Russian gas and the highest-profile corporate victim of Europe’s energy crisis so far, a 15 billion euro bailout last month after Russia drastically cut flows, forcing it to buy gas elsewhere at much higher prices. The newly announced maintenance shutoff raises additional fears that Russia could completely cut off gas that is used to power industry, generate electricity and heat homes to try to gain political leverage over Europe as it tries to boost its storage levels for winter. Natural gas prices have surged as Russia has reduced or cut off natural gas flows to a dozen European Union countries, worsening inflation and raising the risk that Europe could plunge into recession.