The Russian gas giant — which had already been curbing exports to Europe and closed its main pipeline for maintenance earlier this month — said in a letter dated July 14 that the legal clause applied to supplies over the past month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
It “does feel like a signal that the low flows could continue for longer than just the scheduled maintenance period,” said Trevor Sikorski, head of natural gas, coal and carbon at Energy Aspects Ltd. Reuters reported the move earlier. Gazprom had no immediate comment. Uniper SE has formally rejected Gazprom’s declaration, saying the claim is unjustified, Handelsblatt reported, citing a Uniper spokesman.
While Canada has said it will release the part, the move may signal that there’s no chance of the turbine being returned before July 21, when the Nord Stream pipeline is set to start operating again, said Jonathan Stern, a researcher at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.