Russia deepens Europe’s energy crisis with new gas suspension

Russia stopped gas supplies along Europe’s main supply route on Wednesday, intensifying an economic battle between Moscow and Brussels and raising prospects of recession and energy rationing in some of the region’s richest countries.

European governments fear Moscow could extend the shutdown in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine and accuse Russia of using energy supplies as a “weapon of war”.

Moscow denies doing so and cited technical reasons for supply cuts.

Russian state energy giant Gazprom said Nord Stream 1, the largest pipeline carrying gas to its main customer Germany, will be under maintenance from Aug 31 to Sept 3.

The chairman of the German grid regulator said Germany was now better prepared for the disruptions as its gas storage was nearly 85% full and the country had supplies from other sources.

“We can get gas out of winter storage, we are saving gas (and we need to keep doing that!), LNG terminals are coming, and thanks to Belgium, Holland, Norway (and soon France), gas is flowing,” he said. Klaus Mueller on Twitter.

Further restrictions on gas supplies in Europe would deepen an energy crisis that has already sparked a 400% rise in wholesale gas prices since last August, putting pressure on consumers and businesses and forcing governments to spend billions to ease the burden.

Unlike last month’s 10-day Nord Stream 1 maintenance, the latest work was announced less than two weeks in advance and is being carried out by Gazprom rather than its operator.

Moscow, which reduced pipeline supply to 40% of capacity in June and to 20% in July, blames maintenance problems and sanctions that prevent equipment from returning and installing.

Russia said on Wednesday that the German government, not the Kremlin, was doing everything it could to ruin its energy relations with Moscow.