“I cannot overstate the great concern on the part of Germans – but also on the part of the European Union – about the potential impact of having virtually no access to natural gas.”, said Wilkinson. A ban on the export of the turbine was “unfeasible” in light of Germany’s dependence on Russian gas.
The background is the delivery of the turbine from Siemens Energy for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which was serviced in Canada. Since June, Russia has cut back gas supplies via Nord Stream 1. The energy company Gazprom justified this with the missing turbine, which was delivered again in mid-July. On the way to Russia, however, it is now temporarily stored in Mülheim an der Ruhr because Gazprom complains that the necessary documents and information for the repair are missing. Siemens Energy rejects the allegations.
The maintenance and shipping of the turbine had caused a stir and pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Canada in the past few weeks. With the measure, Ottawa circumvented its own sanctions against Moscow and thereby also angered the Ukrainian leadership. A parliamentary committee is investigating the procedure. The World Congress of Ukraine has even announced a lawsuit against the delivery.
The governments in Canada and Germany argue that their actions are intended to give Russia an excuse to further cut gas supplies. The German ambassador to Canada, Sabine Sparwasser, testified before the parliamentary committee on Thursday and reaffirmed the German position.
