Russia’s Gazprom PJSC said its key gas pipeline to Europe can’t reopen as planned on Saturday as a new technical issue has been discovered.
(Bloomberg) — Russia’s Gazprom PJSC said its key gas pipeline to Europe can’t reopen as planned on Saturday as a new technical issue has been discovered.
It’s a massive blow to Europe, which is scrambling to fill up its gas storage ahead of winter and which has been trying to guess Moscow’s next steps in the energy war for weeks.
A leak of oil was detected at a gas turbine that helps pump gas into the link. Gazprom now needs to fix the problem before the flows can restart, it said in a statement late Friday. There’s no indication how long that may take.
It marks a dramatic escalation in Europe’s energy crisis — and comes just as prices were easing. If the shutdown persists, it puts households, factories and economies at risk, weakening Europe’s hand as it backs Ukraine in the war against Russia.
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