Canadian deal allows Russia to send turbines for repairs for two years: press
A sanctions exemption introduced by Canada will allow Russia to send as many as six Nord Stream turbines for repair over the next two years, The Globe and Mail reported on July 12, citing government sources.
Under pressure from Germany, Ottawa over last weekend introduced a sanctions exemption to allow the return of a Siemens turbine to the compressor station of the Nord Stream that had been sent off to Canada for repairs. This was after Gazprom cut gas flow via Nord Stream to 40% of capacity last month, because of the loss of the unit. Germany in turn became short of gas supply.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
According to The Globe and Mail, though, the sanctions exemption lasts for two years from now, and Gazprom is due to send five more turbines for repair in Canada during that time.
Nord Stream is offline now for a 10-day maintenance period that ends on July 21. According to the Moscow-based Kommersant newspaper, the unit will not be shipped to Europe until July 14, and then it will be transported first to Germany and then to Russia – a process set to take two weeks. It will then take several days to install, suggesting Nord Stream will not return to normal operations until the start of August.
But on its Telegram social media channel, Gazprom said it was not yet in receipt of any paperwork that would enable Siemens to take the turbine out of Canada, where it has been undergoing maintenance at the German company's Montreal facility.
In Canada, meanwhile, prime minister Justin Trudeau said it was a "very difficult decision" to exempt the turbine repairs from sanctions, which he said target Russian president Vladimir Putin and his enablers and aren't designed to harm Canada's allies. Canada, he stressed, will continue to stand "unequivocally" with Ukraine.
Ukrainian expats in Canada, meanwhile, are said to be pursuing a judicial review of the exemptions order.