The G7 caps the worth of Russian oil, Moscow cuts the fuel pipeline

The G7 nations focused Russia’s power windfall on Friday by agreeing to cap the worth of its oil. In response Moscow made the Europeans tremble by saying that the Nord Stream fuel pipeline can be fully stopped till a turbine was repaired.

A “broad coalition” of G7 nations is invited to implement this choice, finalized on Friday throughout a digital summit of finance ministers from the seven most industrialized nations.

“In the present day the G7 has taken a significant step in the direction of reaching our twin objectives of placing downward stress on world power costs whereas depriving (Vladimir) Putin of income to fund his brutal warfare. in Ukraine,” instantly greeted US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Russia for its half, even earlier than it was made official, denounced a “fully absurd” measure, then the Russian big Gazprom introduced that the Nord Stream fuel pipeline, linking Russia to northern Germany, which was to renew service on Saturday after a one other three-day interruption for upkeep operations, will lastly be “fully” stopped till the restore of a turbine of this important pipeline for the availability of Europeans.

In a press launch, Gazprom mentioned Friday night that it had found “oil leaks” within the turbine throughout a technical inspection linked to this upkeep operation at a compressor station positioned in Russia. The Russian group experiences a leak on “cables linked to speedometers of a rotor”. He posted a photograph on Telegram displaying cables surrounded by a brownish liquid.

These technical issues stop guaranteeing “secure operation of the fuel turbine engine”, maintains Gazprom, counting on a warning from the Russian Civil Business Monitoring Company.

“Not a technical motive” enough

“Till the restore (…), the transport of fuel by way of Nord Stream is totally suspended”, indicated the group, with out specifying how lengthy this restore may final. However for the German turbine producer Siemens Vitality, an oil leak alone can not justify, from a technical perspective, the stoppage of the fuel pipeline.

“As a turbine producer, we will affirm that such a discovering doesn’t represent a technical motive to cease operations,” Siemens Vitality mentioned in an announcement, noting that previously the prevalence of “this sort of leak didn’t result in the cessation of operations”.

For the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, “this choice by Gazprom is clearly not stunning. However using the fuel weapon won’t undermine the Union’s resolve. We’re going to speed up our efforts in the direction of power independence.

This rebound will intensify the anxiousness of Europeans, who’re struggling to keep away from an power disaster this winter and accuse Moscow of utilizing fuel as a weapon to avenge Western sanctions after the Russian offensive in Ukraine. Earlier within the day, the Kremlin had claimed just one turbine was working there and that Nord Stream’s enterprise was “threatened” by a scarcity of spare elements because of sanctions concentrating on Moscow.

Moscow claims specifically that these sanctions stop the return of a Siemens turbine which had been despatched to Canada for restore. Germany, the place the turbine is positioned, ensures that it’s Russia that’s blocking the return of this key piece.

Winter is coming…

Because the starting of the army intervention of the Kremlin in Ukraine, on the finish of February, Russia has already stopped its provides of fuel, by way of different pipelines, to a number of nations of the European Union, akin to Bulgaria and Poland.

And, in July, Gazprom had already carried out ten days of upkeep work on the Nord Stream fuel pipeline which had then been restarted however with an extra drop in deliveries. It now appears that fears of a complete halt to Russian deliveries as winter approaches are being confirmed.

To compensate for the lacking portions, Europeans are looking for different suppliers and cut back their consumption in opposition to a backdrop of skyrocketing fuel costs on the markets and the specter of recession. A complete minimize off from Russian fuel may minimize French development by one level, mentioned the Minister of the Economic system, Bruno Le Maire.

In Germany, exercise is predicted to contract within the second half, weighed down by the affect of hovering power costs on the highly effective industrial sector. In Europe’s largest financial system, nonetheless, the specter of a fuel scarcity this winter appears to be receding. The nation is struggling to cut back its dependence on Russia, which nonetheless reached 55% of fuel imports in February.

“The scenario on the fuel market is tense, however the safety of provide is assured,” mentioned a spokeswoman for the German Ministry of Economics.

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