Russian gas exports to Europe will be halted for several weeks

Russia completely cuts off gas exports to Europe till September 22

It is expected that gas flows via Nord Stream 1, which runs from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, will be suspended till Sept. 22

On Friday, Russian state energy giant Gazprom said it would not resume flows through the pipeline on Saturday as planned because it had detected an oil leak at its Portovaya compressor station. The pipeline has been shut since Wednesday for maintenance.It didn’t give a timeline of when exports might resume, earlier reported. “Until the issues on the operation of the equipment are resolved, gas supplies to the Nord Stream gas pipeline have been completely stopped,” Gazprom said in a statement. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline is a key artery carrying Russia’s vast gas supplies to Europe, accounting for about 35% of Europe’s total Russian gas imports last year.

It flows directly to Germany, the bloc’s biggest economy, which is particularly reliant on Moscow’s gas to power its homes and heavy industry.

Since June, Gazprom has slashed flows through Nord Stream 1 to just 20% of its capacity, citing maintenance issues and a dispute over a missing turbine. The gas exports to Europe will be halted for several weeks, till September 22.