Germany, the world’s fourth-biggest economy, is preparing for all scenarios including a complete stop to Russian gas supplies once a regular 10-day maintenance period on the giant Nord Stream 1 pipeline ends. Maintenance on the pipeline, which carries Russian gas directly into Germany, began on July 11 but Berlin is factoring in gas being used by the Kremlin to exert political pressure on the West, something denied by Moscow. read more Here are some of the risks should the outage period last longer or the pipeline reopen with reduced flows. WHY IS NORD STREAM 1 SO CRUCIAL? It is the biggest single route for Russian gas into Germany, bringing 55 billion cubic metres (bcm) a year. Germany consumed 100 bcm last year. Russian gas transits via Poland have stopped this year and those via Ukraine have been curtailed by the war. Half of German […]