BERLIN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Gas flows from Russia to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline remain at around 40 percent capacity for the time being, the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) said in its daily gas update on Tuesday.
On Monday, Russian energy company Gazprom said it would further reduce natural gas flows via the pipeline to 20 percent from Wednesday onwards citing the delayed return of a turbine that was being serviced in Canada. Gas deliveries from Russia via Nord Stream 1 had just resumed after ten-day maintenance.
"We have taken note of the announcement. We are monitoring the situation very closely in close cooperation with the Federal Network Agency and the so-called Gas Crisis Team," a spokesperson of the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) said in a statement on Monday.
"According to our information, there is no technical reason for a reduction in supplies," the spokesperson said. "The conditions for approval under sanctions law for the delivery of the turbine in question have been met."
Germany's gas intake had been significantly reduced during the temporary halt to Russian gas supplies via Nord Stream 1. Filling requirements for the country's gas storage facilities were recently tightened as the government is aiming to reach 95 percent of capacity by early November.
The country's network agency warned that it would be unlikely to achieve the target "without additional measures." Germany's gas storage facilities are currently filled to around 66 percent of capacity.
Germany has already launched numerous structural measures to "reduce dependence on Russian gas and strengthen security of supply." These include developing liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure, filling gas storage facilities as well as measures to reduce gas consumption in the electricity sector and industry, according to the BMWK.
"Gas consumption must continue to fall, and the storage facilities must become full. We should join forces to work on this," Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said last week.
