Russia to mothball Nord Stream pipelines, Reuters reports
Russia is not going to repair damaged Nord Stream in the near future (Photo:REUTERS/Anton Vaganov)
With no repair plans in sight, Russia is preparing to seal and mothball damaged Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in near future, Reuters reported on March 3, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Despite Russia’s Gazprom claiming the pipelines can be repaired, sources told the news agency that that Moscow has effectively deemed the project “buried,” as diplomatic and economic relations with the EU are unlikely to normalize in foreseeable future.
At the same time, the Kremlin seeks to preserve the material base of Nord Stream, sealing the pipelines to prevent further corrosion from sea water.
Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 (NS-1 and NS-2, respectively) were major supply routes of Russian gas to northern Europe – chiefly Germany and the Netherlands.
On Sept. 26, 2022, pressure in NS-2 pipes has rapidly declined, with the same happening in NS-1 a day later. Despite being out of operation at the time, both pipelines were filled with technical gas.
The incident that damaged the pipelines occurred some 70 kilometers away from Danish Island of Bornholm – in neutral waters, but within Denmark’s exclusive economic zone.
Björn Lund, Professor of Seismology at Sweden’s National Seismology Center, said the pipelines were damages by clearly artificial explosions – as opposed to some kind of geological phenomenon.
The Kremlin denies any responsibility for the incident. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed that “Anglo-Saxons” were behind the “act of sabotage.”
The pipeline’s operator, Nord Stream AG, said it’s currently impossible to evaluate how long it could take to repair both NS-1 and NS-2.
German security services suggested both pipelines could remain inoperable indefinitely, according to a report by German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.
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