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Why Nord Stream 1 stayed shut on 2 September 2022
Summary
A look back at the day Gazprom said a reported turbine oil leak meant gas flows to Europe would not restart on schedule.
What did it mean when Gazprom said gas would not flow again? On 2 September 2022, the Russian company announced that supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Europe would not resume the following day, citing a reported "oil leak" in a turbine. It gave no new time frame.
The announcement changed the terms of a stoppage that had been presented as brief. On 31 August 2022, Gazprom had announced a complete shutdown of the pipeline for three days of unscheduled maintenance. That implied a restart on 3 September. The 2 September statement removed that date without replacing it.
The announcement came after the G7's announcement, as reported at the time, and formed part of the wider 2022 gas dispute between Russia and the European Union.
What the day established was narrow but significant for European buyers. A shutdown described as three days of maintenance had become open-ended, and the stated reason was a technical fault in a turbine. No restart date had been set.
