Russia has resumed gas supplies to Europe via a key line after it was shut for repairs 10 days ago, the operator announced on Thursday, and assuaging fears that Moscow would keep the route shut as the Continent faces a looming energy crisis this winter.
After being closed for repairs, the Nord Stream 1 line reopened on Thursday.
The operator said in a statement that the gas flows had resumed after the planned maintenance work had been completed.
European officials were worried that the Baltic Sea oil and gas line would be shut down for maintenance because of the sanctions against Russia.
Klaus Mller, the president of Germany's energy regulator, said that the amount of gas flowing from Russia was only 40% of the capacity.
The reduction was caused by delays in the return of equipment.
The benchmark Dutch front-month futures fell as much as 6.5% when the market opened.
European officials believed that Russia would cut off supplies in response to Western sanctions. European countries rely a lot on Russian energy exports. The bloc is vulnerable to Russian reprisals due to the difficulty in imposing effective sanctions against the sector. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned Europe to prepare for a major or total cut-off of Russian gas as she accused Russia of "blackmailing" Europe. The bloc wants countries to reduce gas use by 15%. The reopening of the Nord Stream will allay some of the fears, but not eliminate them completely.
Russia is threatening to shut off the gas to us.
Europe is worried that Russia won't re-open the gas line after it was shut down for maintenance.
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