German pipeline manager Gascade said it expected Russian gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 link to resume as planned after maintenance work wraps up on Thursday.

"We assume that, according to the current nominations (as of 3:00 p.m. on July 20), gas transport via Nord Stream will be resumed at the pre-maintenance level," Gascade said in a statement on Wednesday.

The pipeline, which accounts for more than a third of Russian natural gas exports to the European Union, was halted for ten days of annual maintenance on July 11.