Russia cuts gas exports from Nord Stream 1

Russia won't immediately resume exports through the gas pipeline Nord Stream 1 in Europe, due to an oil leak detected by inspectors in its Portovaya compressor, as the Russian state energy company Gazprom said. The decision threatens to move Europe closer to an energy crisis in winter, as Nord Stream 1 supplied 35% of Europe's natural gas last year. The pipeline was shut down on Wednesday, with no timeline of when the exports will resume given. "Until the issues on the operation of the equipment are resolved, gas supplies to the Nord Stream gas pipeline have been completely stopped," Gazprom said in a statement.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Europe has sanctioned Russia repeatedly and both sides have a big energy standoff. Since June Gazprom has stopped most of the gas flows and minimized the exports to 20%. Russia has also decided to cut off energy supplies to multiple European countries, as the nation's decided to not pay the gas in rubles, even though the contracts state that the gas should be played in dollars or euros. The cut of gas will probably result in a rise of the prices for gas. Energy prices have risen 38% this year, driving inflation. But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said earlier this week that his country was "much better prepared" to secure enough gas for the winter than could have been imagined a few months ago. "We can deal quite well with the threats that are coming our way from Russia," he said.