Nord Stream Destructions Estimated As Unprecedented

The German publication Der Tagesspiegel reported that sabotage could be the cause.

The timing of the resumption of the gas transmission infrastructure of the Nord Stream gas pipeline cannot yet be estimated, according to the operating Nord Stream AG and the RBC news publisher.

“The destruction that occurred on the same day simultaneously on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system is unprecedented. It is not yet possible to estimate the timeframe for restoring the efficiency of the gas transportation infrastructure,” the report says.

The day before, it became known about a sharp drop in pressure in both lines of Nord Stream and one line of the inactive Nord Stream-2. The Danish authorities reported a gas leak near the island of Bornholm. The representative of the pipeline operator Nord Stream 2 AG, Ulrich Lissek, specified that the pressure dropped from 105 to 7 bar due to a hole in the pipe.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline consists of two pipelines about 1,200 km long, which pass through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of five countries: Germany, Denmark, Russia, Finland and Sweden. The combined capacity of the two lines of Nord Stream 2 is 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

The pipeline, despite US sanctions, was completed in September last year, and in October technical gas was launched along line B. By the end of last year, both pipes were filled. The German authorities suspended the certification of the gas pipeline since after Moscow recognized the independence of the DPR and LPR in February, they decided to use their capacities to supply gas to the regions of the North-West of Russia.

Nord Stream has been operating since 2011, its capacity is also 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. It was one of the last routes for gas supplies to Europe, bypassing Ukraine. Pumping through Nord Stream 1 since the summer of this year has been reduced to 20% of the maximum throughput, to 35 million cubic meters. Gazprom attributed this to problems with gas turbines maintained by Siemens. At the end of August, due to problems with the turbines, the gas supply stopped completely.

The Danish Maritime Authority warned that the resulting leaks were dangerous for navigation and banned the passage of ships within 5 km distance.

The publication Der Tagesspiegel, citing sources related to the investigation of the incidents, reported that sabotage could be the cause of the incident. “We cannot imagine a scenario that is not a targeted sabotage,” one of the participants in the investigation, which is being conducted by federal authorities, is quoted as saying by the publication. “Everything speaks against coincidence,” he added.