Russia’s gas pipeline to Germany will not reopen as planned on Saturday, state energy firm Gazprom has announced, saying it had found an “oil leak” in a turbine on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, meaning it would be closed indefinitely, the BBC has reported.
The pipeline has been shut down for the past three days for what Gazprom previously described as maintenance work, amid fears that families in the EU will not be able to afford the cost of heating this winter as scarce supplies could push up costs even further.
Moscow denies using energy supplies as an economic weapon in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion blaming Western sanctions for holding up routine maintenance of Nord Stream 1.
Germany’s network regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, said the country was now better prepared for Russian gas supplies to cease, but urged citizens and companies to cut consumption.
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