Reduced gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline have further complicated the plan to fill gas storage units across Europe. The goal of the European Union as a whole is to replenish its gas storage to 80 percent full by the end of October. Even at lower import rates, most of the EU member states will amass enough gas for this winter. When Gazprom suspended the flow of gas earlier this month via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the European Union—and Germany, specifically—braced for a permanent halt in that flow. The deterioration in relations between Brussels, Berlin, and Moscow made such a halt a distinct possibility, but Gazprom restarted the flow of gas following the end of planned maintenance on July 21. Days later, it said it would reduce these flows to 20 percent of capacity. Meanwhile, the EU is trying to fill its gas storage ahead of […]

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