Russia’s key pipeline restarts pumping gas to Germany: The significance of the Nord Stream 1

Europe would be collectively heaving a sigh of relief after natural gas started flowing through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia on Thursday after a 10-day shutdown.

The pipeline to Germany had been shut on 11 July for annual maintenance and German authorities feared that the pipeline — the country’s main source of Russian gas, accounting for around a third of its supplies — might not restart owing to the growing tensions over the war in Ukraine.

On Thursday, a Nord Stream spokesman was quoted as telling AFP, “It’s working,” without specifying the amount of gas being delivered.

#UPDATE The Nord Stream gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany has restarted after 10 days of maintenance work, its operator tells @AFP.

"It's working," a Nord Stream spokesman says, without specifying the amount of gas being delivered pic.twitter.com/3NYW4bFtvD

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 21, 2022

According to data provided by Russia’ state-owned energy giant Gazprom to Gascade, the German operator of the line, 530 gigawatt hours (GWh) would be delivered during the day.

This was only 30 percent of its capacity, Klaus Mueller, president of Germany’s energy regulator, the Federal Network Agency, said on Twitter.

Gazprom hat renomimiert: Jetzt werden ca. 530 GWh/d #Gas für #NordStream1 am 21.7. gemeldet. Das wären ca. 30% Auslastung.

Weitere Änderungen sind möglich.#NS1 @bnetza @BMWK https://t.co/XLFxm9TlWl

— Klaus Müller (@Klaus_Mueller) July 20, 2022

What is the Nord Stream 1 pipeline?

Nord Stream 1 is a 1,224 km underwater gas pipeline that runs from Vyborg in northwest Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany via the Baltic Sea.

Map showing Nord Stream gas pipelines pic.twitter.com/Vj3WHzG3zi

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 14, 2018

Reuters reports that the pipeline, majority owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom, is the primary route through which gas enters Germany.

It is important to note that while Gazprom has 51 per cent, four western partners — PEGI/E.ON (EONGn.DE) and Wintershall Dea (WINT.UL)(BASFn.DE) have 15.5 per cent each, and French Engie (ENGIE.PA) and Dutch Gasunie (GSUNI.UL) have 9 per cent each.

The Swiss-based Nord Stream AG consortium is the operating company for transit, technical, legal and environmental matters but does not own the asset or the gas in it.

The idea of the pipeline had first been floated in the mid-1990s and was finally sealed on 8 September 2005, with the joint declaration of intent signed by the German and Russian heads of government.

It was decided that there would be a new natural gas pipeline running directly from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, bypassing all the transit countries that had been irritating Russia with their demands up till then.

A project that had begun under the tutelage of German chancellor Gerhard Schröder finally came to life six years later. On 8 November 2011 at a ceremony held in Lubmin, the pipeline was officially inaugurated by the German chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, French prime minister François Fillon, and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.

During its inauguration, former German chancellor Angela Merkel said the pipeline, which cost 7.4 billion euros, paved the way for a “safe, sustainable partnership with Russia in the future”.

Nord Stream 1 transports 55 billion cubic metres of gas a year, of which most goes directly to Germany, while the rest travels west and southwards through onshore links to other countries and into storage caverns.

Following the success of Nord Stream 1, it was decided to expand the project, named Nord Stream 2, to double the annual capacity.

Worries over Nord Stream 1

Delivery of gas from Nord Stream 1 has come under scrutiny; in mid-June, Russia’s state-owned Gazprom cut the flow to 40 per cent of capacity. It cited alleged technical problems involving equipment that partner Siemens Energy sent to Canada for overhaul and couldn’t be returned because of sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

However, the German government has rejected Gazprom’s technical explanation for the gas reduction, charging repeatedly that it was a pretext for a political decision to sow uncertainty and further push up energy prices.

Also read: Explained: Why is Europe worried about running out of natural gas?

Germany has accused the Kremlin of using energy as a “weapon” amid its war on Ukraine.

“Moscow is not shying away from using grain and energy deliveries as a weapon. We have to be resolute in protecting ourselves,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters earlier this week.

German economy minister Robert Habeck was also quoted as telling BBC it was “a political decision” and not a technical one.

“It is obviously a strategy to unsettle and drive up prices.”

Can Europe survive without Nord Stream 1?

Europe is heavily dependent on Russia for natural gas; prior to the Ukraine war, Russia supplied some 40 per cent of Europe’s natural gas. That has dropped to around 15 per cent, sending prices through the roof and straining energy-intensive industries.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, was the largest importer of Russia gas in 2020, followed by Italy.

Also read: Can Europe survive if Russia cuts off natural gas supply?

The United Kingdom is less reliant on Russian gas, importing just 4 per cent of its needs from there in 2020, and the US doesn't import any gas from Russia.

There’s doubt over whether the EU will be able to find other gas supplies than Russia’s.

The European Commission on Wednesday urged countries in the bloc to reduce demand for natural gas by 15 per cent over the coming months to secure winter stocks and defeat Russia's "blackmail".

Announcing an emergency plan, EU commissioners also asked member states to give Brussels special powers to impose compulsory energy rationing if Russia cuts off Europe’s gas lifeline.

A total shutdown of imports or a sharp reduction in the flow from east to west could have a catastrophic effect on the European economy, shutting factories and forcing households to turn down the heat.

With inputs from agencies

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