Gas flow from Russia to Germany via Nord Stream 1 dwindling

Preliminary data early on Wednesday indicated that the volume of gas delivered from Russia to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline is sinking, as Russian gas provider Gazprom had said it would, reported dpa.

While 27 million kilowatt-hours of gas arrived at the German terminal in Lubmin between 6 am (0400 GMT) and 7 am, the volume had decreased to 17 million kilowatt-hours between 8 am and 9 am.

The volume is expected to sink further. According to the Nord Stream 1 website, a supply of just over 14 million kilowatt-hours per hour is predicted for the rest of the day.

Russian gas company Gazprom had announced it would cut down the volume of gas deliveries via Nord Stream 1 from 40% to 20% of capacity.

Russia is blaming the reduced volume of gas deliveries on technical issues resulting from the sanctions imposed against Moscow by the West.

However, the German government is among those who see the lower gas deliveries as Moscow exploiting its leverage against the heavily reliant German - and, indeed, European, - energy market for political purposes.

The chief of the German networks agency, Klaus Müller, accused Russia of weaponizing its gas supply in an interview with German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk on Wednesday.

According to pipeline operator Eugas, Gazprom had booked extra capacity in its Transgas pipeline through Slovakia for Wednesday, suggesting that it was making up for lower deliveries in Germany, as reported by the German Spiegel newspaper.

The Transgas pipeline travels through Slovakia to Austria and Germany. However, it is not yet clear whether Gazprom will really send more gas.