BERLIN (Reuters) – Physical flows of gas through the Nord Stream 1 fell slightly early on Wednesday, ahead of an expected halving of deliveries later in the day, data from the pipeline’s operator showed.
Flows dropped to 24.75 million kilowatt hours an hour (kWh/h) for 0700-0800 CET (0600-0700 GMT) on Wednesday, down from 27.78 million an hour earlier, Nord Stream data on its website showed.
Nominations suggest flows will plunge to 14.42 million kWh/h from 0800 CET onwards, in line with announcements by Nord Stream 1’s majority owner Gazprom earlier this week that capacity would be cut to 20%.
Gas grid operator Gascade said that 1.28 million cubic metres per hour, or about 20% of Nord Stream’s maximum capacity, has been transported via Nord Stream 1 in accordance with nominations since 0800 CET.
Germany’s gas regulator said on Wednesday a gas shortage was still avoidable, even as Russian supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline into Germany are set to halve, but warned industry and consumers would have to work harder to save gas.
(Writing by Paul Carrel and Christoph Steitz, editing by Rachel More and Maria Sheahan)
