Russia's Nord Stream 1 pipeline will resume gas flows on time - but at reduced levels, report says

• Russia will resume gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on schedule, sources told Reuters.
• The pipeline went offline for 10 days on July 11 for annual maintenance and is due to restart on Thursday.

Russia's Nord Stream 1 pipeline will resume deliveries on schedule this week — but at reduced levels, Reuters first reported.

The pipeline, which carries more than one-third of Russia's natural gas exports to Europe, shut down on July 11 for 10 days of scheduled maintenance and is due to restart on Thursday.

A source told Reuters that flows would "return to the levels seen before July 11," meaning they would be lower than the pipeline's full-capacity of 160 million cubic meters per day.

Before going offline, Gazprom had already slashed Nord Stream 1 deliveries by 60%, claiming Western sanctions were blocking a turbine needed at a compressor station. European officials accused the Kremlin of wielding its energy as punishment in response to sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine..

The report comes after Gazprom said last week its tried to trigger an "act of God" clause in its natural gas contracts with European buyers, arguing that it should not be held responsible for recent or current drops in supplies.

Analysts said the move raised questions about whether Russia is planning to permanently reduce or even halt flows of the vital fossil fuel to Europe, in what could be a huge blow for the region's economy.

The International Energy Agency said recently Europe should prepare for Russian gas to not come back, and a top European Commission official also said deliveries were unlikely to resume.

A full halt in Russian gas supplies to Europe would spark recessions across the continent unless nations banded together to share liquid natural gas resources, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.