The German Energy Ministry has announced the start of construction work at a natural gas plant in the northern German city of Wilhelmshaven, noting that the plant is expected to be ready for gas storage by the end of the year.

Earlier, Reuters reported that “German Chancellor Olaf Scholz accuses Russia of obstructing the delivery of a turbine to the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, noting that “our citizens are preparing to save energy, and there is momentum in Germany to reduce consumption.”

The Russian company Gazprom has stopped the operation of the new Nord Stream 1 turbine for periodic maintenance, which reduces the volume of gas pumped to Europe.

In turn, the German operator noted that “gas supply through Nord Stream 1 decreased by 9 am Moscow time to about 20 percent of the gas pipeline’s throughput.”

In July last year, Gazprom announced that the daily volume of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany would be reduced to 33 million cubic meters, or about 20 percent, and attributed this reduction to the repair of another gas turbine.