The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which supplies natural gas from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea, will be closed from August 31 to September 2, as its only remaining gas compressor requires maintenance, Russian energy giant Gazprom has announced.
The closure will bring further disruption to Europe's gas supplies with the pipeline already running at only 20 percent of its capacity.
"It is necessary to carry out maintenance every 1,000 hours" of operation, Gazprom said in a statement on August 19.
After maintenance is complete, flows of 33 million cubic meters (mcm) a day -- in line with current volumes -- will resume, it said. Nord Stream 1's full capacity is 167 mcm per day.
European gas prices soared to a new record high at the close of trading on August 19, following Gazprom's announcement.
The Dutch TTF Gas Futures contract jumped to a closing high of $258.30 amid fears of winter energy shortages.
Gazprom has previously cited the need to repair other compressors, and some experts predict Russia could halt supplies completely heading into the winter heating season.
