A compressor station in northern France. File photoPARIS, Jun 23 French Minister of Energy Transformation Agnès Pannier-Runachet said Russian gas imports have been reduced but not stopped.»Today we are in a situation where we continue to import Russian gas, but in smaller quantities,» she said on BFMTV.The Bundestag said that the refusal of energy resources from Russia harms Germany. The minister also added that France could theoretically do without supplies from Russia. «This assumes that all LNG tankers arrive on time and we can comfortably fill our strategic storage, and what passes today through Spain is functioning,” said Panier-Runashe. In addition, according to her, it also depends on supplies from Norway and Algeria. The French energy corporation Engie last week reported a decrease in gas supplies “after new restrictions for export accepted by Russia». Similar statements were also made in Italy, Austria and other countries.Will Europe survive without Russian gasNow the main route for the delivery of raw materials from Russia to Europe is the Nord Stream gas pipeline. As Gazprom reported on June 14, the company can use only three gas pumping units at the Portovaya compressor station due to the fact that the German concern Siemens did not return the equipment after repair in time. The next day, the Russian company announced that it was stopping another Siemens gas turbine at Portovaya and from June 16 it would be able to send no more than 67 million cubic meters of gas per day to Nord Stream, against the planned 167 million. According to Bloomberg, the key equipment for work pipeline cannot return after maintenance from Canada due to anti-Russian sanctions. A turbine that must undergo MOT cannot be sent abroad. Reuters, citing the Canadian Ministry of Natural Resources, reported that Ottawa and Berlin are consulting on the situation with turbines. situation with gas Despite this, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi expressed the opinion that the reasons for the reduction in supplies are political. In turn, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that there was no intention on the part of Russia. He repeatedly reminded that Moscow never used gas supplies to punish anyone. new level of emergency for gas
