Europe frets with gas flows still at risk after pipeline restart

Bloomberg

Europe is again on edge about potential gas supply disruptions from Russia, even after the restart of the crucial Nord Stream pipeline following maintenance this week.
A turbine that helps pump gas into the link is held up in transit in Germany after first being stranded in Canada due to sanctions. President Vladimir Putin has warned that shipments through Nord Stream — Russia’s biggest pipeline to the continent — could dwindle if the part isn’t returned to Russia in the coming days.
Throughout the European Union, politicians and business are bracing for the possibility that Russia could cut gas supplies further, or halt them completely. EU nations are racing to build their stockpiles as they navigate a historic energy crisis, stoked by Russia’s war in Ukraine, that risks inflicting severe economic damage as it
ripples across the continent.
“Further disruptions are expected as Russia seeks to increase political and economic pressure on Europe as winter approaches,” said Penny Leake, research analyst for Europe gas and LNG at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. “It remains unclear what Russia will do.”
Since it returned from maintenance on Thursday, Nord Stream has been running at about 40% of its capacity, roughly the flow rate before the works.
That level could drop to 20% as soon as next week if the turbine delays aren’t resolved, according to Putin. Only two turbines at a compressor station in Russia are currently operating, and one of them needs to go for maintenance this month, he said earlier this week. Unless the replacement component sent from Canada arrives in Russia soon, flows will drop, he added.