Posted Sep 30, 2022 3:22 PMUpdated Sep 30, 2022, 3:33 PM
The gas leaks on Nord Stream would not be the result of amateurs. According to an official report from Sweden and Denmark submitted to the United Nations on Friday, the four leaks affecting the two sister gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea are due to underwater explosions corresponding to “hundreds of kilos” of TNT.
“The magnitude of the explosions was measured respectively at 2.3 and 2.1 on the Richter scale, which is probably the equivalent of an explosive charge of hundreds of kilos”, indicate the two Scandinavian countries in a communication to the Council UN security. This is meeting on the subject on Friday in New York at the request of Russia.
Ping-pong between Washington and Moscow
“All available information indicates that these explosions are the consequence of a deliberate act”, write Sweden and Denmark in their letter addressed to the Secretary General of the UN, without pointing out a possible person responsible. The source and author of the explosions remain mysterious, with Washington and Moscow both denying responsibility; Vladimir Putin again accusing the West, this Friday during his speech of annexation of four Ukrainian provinces, of being at the origin of these explosions.
The leaks – which are causing a spectacular seething in the Baltic Sea whose images are going around the world – were discovered on Monday in international waters east of the Danish island of Bornholm. Two breaches are located in the exclusive economic zones of Sweden and the other two in those of Denmark.
At the time of the leaks, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines were out of 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.
A potential ecological drama
At least 115,000 tonnes of methane (i.e. 3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent) could thus end up in the atmosphere if all the gas escaped from Nord Stream 2. And twice as many taking into account the leaks on Nord Stream 1, ie the equivalent of the annual emissions of 1.4 million vehicles. “However, this is only about 0.2% of annual methane emissions from fossil fuels,” tempers climatologist Zeke Hausfather, who participates in the work of the IPCC.
While leaks on Nord Stream 1 may end on Sunday, the outlook for Nord Stream 2 remains uncertain. In the meantime, navigation in the zones, as well as their overflight, remain strictly prohibited.
With AFP
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