Posted Oct 1, 2022, 6:31 PM
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany, has stopped leaking under the Baltic Sea. “The water pressure more or less shut down the pipeline,” said Nord Stream 2 spokesman Ulrich Lissek.
“The gas that is inside cannot come out,” he said. “The conclusion is that there is still gas in the pipeline,” he added, without being able to specify the quantity. Information regarding the status of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline leak was not immediately available.
Friday evening, the Swedish coastguard announced that the leaks on Nord Stream 2 showed great signs of weakening due to the exhaustion of the gas contained in the pipes. The diameter of the surface bubbling caused by the leak located in the Swedish exclusive economic zone was now only 20 meters wide, ten times less than at the beginning.
The leak on Nord Stream 1, more powerful, had also started to weaken on Friday at the end of the day, with a marine boiling down to 600 meters in diameter, against 900 to 1,000 at the start.
A definite climate impact
At the time of the leaks, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines were not in service due to the war in Ukraine. But they contained significant amounts of natural gas, which is 90% methane.
Without knowing the exact volumes at the time of the damage, experts and NGOs estimate that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would contain between 150 and 300 million cubic meters of gas. At least 115,000 tonnes of methane (i.e. 3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent) could thus have ended up in the atmosphere if all the gas escaped from Nord Stream 2.
The EU wants to protect its infrastructures
Underwater explosions equivalent to “hundreds of kilos” of TNT are the cause of these leaks discovered Monday on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, east of the Danish island of Bornholm.
“All available information indicates that these explosions are the result of a deliberate act,” Sweden and Denmark said on Friday in an official report submitted to the United Nations. The source and author of the explosions remain mysterious, with Washington and Moscow both denying responsibility.
This sabotage pushes Europe to put itself in battle order. The protection of critical infrastructure in the EU will be discussed next week at the informal EU leaders’ summit in Prague, European Council President Charles Michel announced. EU leaders are meeting in Prague on Thursday with their counterparts from 17 countries of “greater Europe” to face the challenges posed by the war led by Russia in Ukraine and to launch the project of a European Political Community.
