Scholz Blames Russia for Nord Stream Gas Turbine Debacle
- Siemens Energy ready to ship part for key Gazprom pipeline
- Turbine spat underscores tensions over looming gas shortage
Olaf Scholz in front of a Nord Stream 1 pipeline turbine at the Siemens Energy plant in Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany, on Aug. 3.
Photographer: Sascha Schuermann/AFP/Getty Images
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russia is to blame for a delay in shipping a turbine for the key Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, and signaled extending the life of Germany’s three remaining nuclear power plants remains a potential option to help ease an energy crunch.
The turbine, which Gazprom PJSC has cited as a reason for the reduced deliveries that are stoking Europe’s gas crisis, is ready to be reinstalled following maintenance in Canada, and there are no hurdles on Germany’s side, Scholz said Wednesday at a news conference. He was standing next to the component and alongside the chief executive officer of its manufacturer, Siemens Energy AG, in Muelheim an der Ruhr in western Germany.