Explosion Leads to Rupture of NordStream Pipeline
Dmitry Lovetsky/ Associated Press via EuroNews
As the international battle over gas resources continues, an explosion in the Nord Stream Pipeline - the largest natural gas transportation medium linking Russia to Europe - puts the greater Europe off-guard.
Nord Stream Pipeline 1 has efficiently transported gas from Russia to Europe since opening in 2011, sending 170 cubic metres of gas from Russia to Germany daily. Since the commencement of the invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of economic sanctions, Russia has steadily reduced its gas deliveries. In June, it cut down to 40 cubic metres of gas delivery daily. In July, it reduced supply again to 20 cubic metres daily after closing for 10 days. Russia closed the pipeline completely in late August, citing equipment problems, and delivery has been fully stopped since then.
Nord Stream Pipeline 2 was built with construction finishing in September 2021. It promised a doubling in annual capacity of natural gas to 110 billion cubic metres. However, it hasn’t begun operations, as Germany has yet to certify it due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Varying levels of leakages have been detected in Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 through pressure inconsistencies since September. Both pipelines were filled with gas at the time, although neither was flowing.
Investigations by seismologists in Denmark reveal that they detected tremors up to 2.3 on the Richter scale. However, these tremors did not resemble earthquakes.
In addition, drone footage has revealed the disappearance of a 50-metre long section in Nord Stream Pipeline 1.
The European Union (EU) as well as Danish investigators have labelled it as sabotage. These leaks have caused “extensive damage” to international waters, stated Danish officials. The pipelines are primarily in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark.
Due to the coincidental timing of the explosion with the Russian-Ukraine War, Moscow has made accusations of the involvement of the United States in this sabotage as an indirect measure of economic sanctioning, however Washington has denied this.
The EU and US have also suspected Russia of reducing transmission in an attempt to put pressure on the EU’s economic system.
In addition to the economic impacts of this explosion on neighbouring countries, this also likely resulted in the biggest burst of greenhouse gas and methane emitted for a disaster on record - five times the former record at the 2015 Aliso Canyon Disaster in California, and could be as much as one third of Denmark’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to head of the Danish Energy Agency Kristoffer Böttzauw. The Danish government estimates that 778 million cubic metres of gas was leaked.
With no estimated date of restoration, the European Commission is currently planning a “last resort measure” proposal for developing a “maximum dynamic price” on all gas trades at the Title Transfer Facility. According to Eurostat, in 2021, the EU consumed nearly 16 million terajoules of natural gas. 45 per cent of it was imported gas from Russia, according to Natural Gas Intelligence data.