The federal government has found itself defending Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called an absolutely unacceptable decision in recent weeks – to exempt a Canadian company Russian Sanctions
Siemens will be allowed to import and export six turbines which are part of Nord Stream 1 Pipeline in Europe.
Why is Canada’s turbine returning to Russia’s Gazprom causing sparks? here’s what we know
Here are five things to know about turbines:
What is Nord Stream 1?
The Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. It provides about 35 percent of the natural gas used to generate electricity and the power industry in Germany. Some of that fuel is sent to other European countries.
Russia supplied about 40 percent of all natural gas used in the EU before invading Ukraine, and it has been reducing the flow of energy into the EU ever since.
Why is Nord Stream 1 subject to Canadian sanctions?
Its majority owner is the Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom.
Macroeconomic sanctions imposed by Canada and other Western countries are intended to isolate the Russian regime and pressure it to end its invasion of Ukraine.
Top executives of Gazprom and other energy companies were approved in March.
How did Canada get involved?
Six turbines for the pipeline required maintenance at the Siemens Energy facility in Montreal. One of the turbines, which powers a compressor station, had already been imported and repaired.
Gazprom said it had to cut natural gas flows to Germany by 60 percent last month, due to technical problems with the turbine and delays in bringing it back due to restrictions.
German politicians have dismissed the decision as a political gamble by the Kremlin to sow uncertainty and push up energy prices, insisting that the turbine in question should not be scheduled for use until September anyway. it was done.
The federal government recently revealed that it has granted a two-year leeway to allow Siemens to ship the turbines back to Germany and repair the other five turbines in that timeframe.
This angered the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who called the exception absolutely unacceptableand warned that it could undermine global sanctions against Russia.
Ukraine’s World Congress has petitioned the Federal Court for judicial review, hoping to prevent the turbines from being made in Germany.
What is the situation in Germany?
The gas flow completely stopped on 11 July for the scheduled maintenance which is expected to be done by 21 July. This type of work is sometimes done in the summer, when gas usage is reduced.
Germany typically stores natural gas during the summer months, and its laws are required to fill 90 percent of that capacity by November 1.
As of Tuesday the total storage level is just over 65 percent, which the German government says is not unusual for July.
But there are concerns that Russia will blame more technical issues for keeping the tap off.
World leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, say Vladimir Putin is weaponizing energy in Europe.
What if the pipeline does not restart?
The German government has issued an alert regarding the gas supply, which is the second in a three-tier system. If the situation escalates to an emergency level, the country’s regulator will take over the allocation and distribution of gas resources.
But it emphasizes that gas supplies are less of a concern right now than costs, which are already rising across the EU. Some worry that will lead to a slowdown as economies begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many countries seek alternatives, wanting to import more liquefied natural gas from the United States. But it is a long-term solution that requires terminals to convert the liquefied product back to gas – a capability that Germany does not currently have.
Meanwhile, Germany is asking people to reduce their electricity use. It has allowed 10 coal-fired power plants to restart and halted plans to close another 11 coal plants this fall.
— With files from The Associated Press
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