Russia’s Gazprom to shut gas pipeline to Europe for 3 days

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom says a key pipeline conveying natural gas to Europe will shut down for three days at the end of this month to undergo “routine maintenance.” In a statement Friday, Gazprom said the only operational turbine at a key compressor station along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which links western Russia and Germany, will shut down from Aug. 31 to Sept 2. Gazprom said once work is completed, the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1 will resume at its prior level, which is just 20% of the pipeline’s capacity. Germany has called previous gas reductions a political move by the Kremlin to sow uncertainty and push up prices amid the conflict in Ukraine.