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A sign at the Siemens building in Moscow. Archive photo

“Gazprom” announced that Siemens has eliminated more than a quarter of faults in turbines

MOSCOW, July 29 – RIA Novosti. Siemens has eliminated more than a quarter of the faults detected in Nord Stream turbines, declaration Vitaly Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of PJSC Gazprom, broadcasts on the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

“We have repeatedly contacted the Russian representative office of Siemens. We have sent ten letters. The company has not eliminated more than a quarter of the detected faults. Unfortunately, we did not receive constructive and sufficient proposals to restore the safety and reliability of the engines for the rest,” he said.

According to Markelov, engines 075, 076 and 120 were considered out of order, and 11 emergency failures were recorded in May-June. They are now in mandatory idle time. The other engine numbered 072 has been ready to be shipped to Siemens’ factory in Canada since April, while engines numbered 074 and 121 completed their maintenance life in June and July. The company representative added that Rostekhnadzor had issued a warning for them to ban the operation.

At the same time, he noted that there is no complete package of documents containing permits for the transportation and repair of engines. Removal of restrictions, including on the instructions of the vice-president Rostekhnadzor, is permissible only when the manufacturer Siemens eliminates the malfunctions.

“At the same time, the German company has no restrictions on access to the Portovaya compressor station and has all the opportunities to perform service work. And we look forward to the arrival of its specialists,” said Markelov.

He reminded that the timing of the revision is critical for the operation of the Portovaya and Nord Stream gas pipeline, which is especially important for gas supply in the upcoming autumn-winter period.

Markelov also noted that sending gas turbine engines from Canada to Germany instead of Russia did not meet the terms of the contract. Now the company needs to assess the impact of EU sanctions and take into account the possible risks associated with the engine being blocked and stopped on the territory of EU countries.

According to the contract, the supplier is Industrial Turbine Company Limited, which is subject to the requirements of British law, so the vice president explained that Gazprom had to evaluate the restrictive measures implemented by the UK.

He also pointed out that the permits submitted by the Canadian authorities did not take into account the terms of the current contract and were given to Siemens Energy Canada Limited, with which Russia has no contractual relationship.

Markelov added that “Gazprom” will soon publish part of its correspondence with Siemens on the repair of turbines.

In mid-June, the Russian gas concern reduced pumping through the Nord Stream pipeline to about 40 percent of its capacity, which is explained by the delay in repairing the Siemens unit for the Portovaya compressor station. In early July, Canada agreed to send the turbine to Germany for transfer to Russia.

Last week, German Economy Minister Robert Habek confirmed the delivery of the turbine and noted that its handover will be notified to Gazprom after the event. At the same time, Berlin does not specify where the unit is currently located for “security reasons”.

On July 25, Gazprom announced that it has stopped operating another Siemens gas turbine engine at Portovaya CS. As explained by the company, this is due to the need to ship for routine repairs. Now the daily capacity of the compression station does not exceed 33 million cubic meters per day.

Source: Ria

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