BREAKING NEWS: Nord Stream gas flows to drop to just 20% of capacity

LONDON (ICIS)–Russia’s Gazprom said in a 25 July Telegram update that another gas turbine at Nord Stream’s Portovaya compressor station is being taken offline starting on 27 July, reducing gas pipeline flows to 33mcm/day from 65mcm/day.

This now cuts volume by about half of its current flows and down to 20% of its capacity. The latest announcement comes after the Nord Stream pipeline returned from maintenance earlier this month on 21 July.

“A reduction in flows through Nord Stream 1 was unfortunately expected, given the statement made by President Vladimir Putin last week and the continuous comments direct from Gazprom regarding the status of a key compressor,” said Tom Marzec-Manser, head of gas analytics at ICIS.

“The move will undoubtedly support the ICIS TTF benchmark, the key European natural gas price, as the reduction further tightens the supply/demand outlook. The key question now is how long will this reduction to just 20% of the pipe’s capacity actually last.

“A protracted period of 33mcm/day flows on Nord Stream 1 will likely limit Europe’s ability to inject adequate volumes of gas into storage, which could have consequences on winter supply. European governments will further need to incentivize demand reductions, especially from the industrial sector.”