Siemens apologizes for trolling Gazprom
Siemens has apologized for jokingly offering emotional support to a Nord Stream 1 gas turbine, which is stuck in Germany due to international sanctions. The gesture coincided with Russia’s announcement of an upcoming halt of gas transit via the pipeline.
“Our famous turbine is still not where it should be. It stands alone on our site in Mülheim an der Ruhr. Let’s do the poor thing a favor and create a Spotify playlist,” the company tweeted on Wednesday, while recommending kicking off the list with ‘So Lonely’ by The Police.
However, by Friday night, the German technology giant realized that the “tonality” of the tweet was “inappropriate,” and offered an apology, saying they never intended to hurt anyone’s feelings.
“We’ve deleted our tweet about the turbine, which triggered a controversial discussion,” the company said, making sure to emphasize that “we condemned the war in Ukraine from day one” and “continue to do so.” The public apology failed to appease critics, however, as the company was immediately bombarded with new demands to halt any business with Russia, condemn Moscow, and donate all proceeds to Ukraine.
Siemens offered the mea culpa shortly after Gazprom announced that all natural gas transit to the EU via the NS1 will be halted from August 31 to September 2 for maintenance on the last of the pipeline’s six turbines that was operational.
Russian gas supplies through the NS1 dropped to 20% of their maximum level last month because the rest of the turbines require an overhaul, while one of the units remains stuck in Germany. It was supposed to be transported to the pipeline’s compressor station in Russia in May, after undergoing maintenance in Canada.
Gazprom has insisted that the Western sanctions are hindering the return of the turbine and threaten future maintenance of equipment. According to the company, the paperwork for the part’s return is not in order, as it was issued by Siemens Energy and not the firm that is contracted by Gazprom.
