BBC, Sept. 5, 2022
“The market is so tight at the moment that any disruption in supply causes more hikes in the price of gas. This could cause slowdowns in European economies and accelerate the route towards recession.”
What is Nord Stream 1 and how much gas does it supply?
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline stretches 1,200km (745 miles) under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to north-eastern Germany.
It opened in 2011, and can send a maximum of 170m cubic metres of gas per day from Russia to Germany.
Nord Stream Pipelines from Russia
The pipeline is owned and operated by Nord Stream AG, whose majority shareholder is the Russian state-owned company Gazprom.
Germany had also previously approved the construction of a parallel pipeline – Nord Stream 2 – but the project was halted after Russia invaded Ukraine.
How has Russia cut supplies?
In May, Gazprom closed a key pipeline which runs through Belarus and Poland and delivers gas to Germany and other European nations.
Then in June, it cut gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 by 75% – from 170m cubic metres of gas a day to roughly 40m cubic metres.
Then, in July, it shut down Nord Stream 1 for 10 days, citing the need for maintenance.
Shortly after reopening, Gazprom halved the amount supplied to 20m cubic metres because of what it called faulty equipment.
Now it has completely halted all gas supplies to Europe through the pipeline. … SOURCE
