Reuters predicted difficulties for Russia in launching Siemens turbines in Crimea

Russia bypassing EU sanctions and placing Siemens gas turbines in Crimea will face difficulties in launching them, since no other Russian company has done it without the participation of the manufacturer.

The website of RBC reports it with reference to Reuters.

The agency interviewed about a dozen industry experts who said that the launch of turbines without engineers from Siemens or its partners would be a difficult test for the country that could be fraught with technical problems, high costs and unexpected surprises from a legal point of view.

«Without Siemens, it will be very complicated to do [launch turbines] », the agency quotes one of the industry experts.

At the same time, most of the industry experts recognized that it was still possible to start turbines, even if there was no such experience before. Some interlocutors stated that the company «Technopromexport» and its partners can do this work if they bring the specialists together.

The Reuters’ source, close to the project of the construction of power plants in Crimea, said that there had already begun a recruiting in the Russian energy sector of those who had experience in launching Siemens gas turbines.

The maintenance of turbines will be carried out by Russian specialists and its contractors, as representative from «Technopromexport» told to RBC.

It became known about a delivery of ​​gas turbines for power plants to Crimea after the publication of Reuters on July 5. The agency reported about turbines, produced by Siemens, and their delivery in spite of the EU sanctions.

Meanwhile, the company «Technopromexport» stated that the turbines were purchased in the secondary market and modernized at the Russian enterprises. RBC sources said that the equipment was produced at the joint venture of «Silovyie machiny» («Power Machines») and Siemens in St. Petersburg, and then it was significantly redesigned at «Rostech» plants.

On July 7, Siemens announced about its investigation regarding the alleged supplies of its gas turbines to Crimea despite the sanctions. Three days later, the company filed a petition to the Moscow Arbitration Court against three Russian companies – «Technopromexport» OJSC, «Technopromexport» LLC and Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies LLC.