Canada seeking pathway to enable German gas flow amid Russian sanctions -Bloomberg

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Ottawa is evaluating options to help restore German gas supplies as a crucial Nord Stream 1 pipeline part is stranded in Canada due to Russian sanctions, the Canadian Natural Resources Minister said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday.

Gazprom's Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been forced to reduce capacity as it waits for the turbine, which is being serviced in Canada. Sanctions on Russia make it impossible for German equipment supplier Siemens Energy to receive the pipeline part, the company said last week.

"We want to respect the sanctions because the sanctions were put into place for a reason," Canada Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told Bloomberg. "That being said, the intent of the sanctions was never to cause significant pain to Germany, which is one of our closest friends and allies. So we are very seized with this issue."

"We are talking to Germany, trying to find a pathway through which we can actually enable the flow of gas," Wilkinson said. "There may be different options that we can look at."

Russia has said the pipeline is delivering less gas to Europe due to the slow return of Siemens-made equipment from Canada. European leaders such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have questioned whether the cut in flows is politically motivated rather than a technical issue.

A Natural Resources ministry spokesman confirmed the accuracy of the comments, saying they were in line with an official statement issued last week.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Josie Kao)