The Nord Stream gas leaks were a series of explosions and subsequent underwater gas leaks that occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines on 26 September 2022.
Both pipeline pairs were built to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, and are majority owned by the Russian majority state-owned gas company, Gazprom. The leaks happened as the Baltic Pipe was being opened for natural gas to come in from the North Sea through Denmark to Poland and are believed to have been caused by intentional sabotage; however, the perpetrators’ identities and the motives behind such intentional sabotage remain debated.
Prior to the leaks, the pipelines had not been operating due to disputes between Russia and the European Union in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine but were filled with natural gas. On 26 September at 02:03 local time (CEST), an explosion was detected originating from Nord Stream 2; a pressure drop in the pipeline was reported and natural gas began escaping to the surface southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm. Seventeen hours later, the same occurred to Nord Stream 1, resulting in three separate leaks northeast of Bornholm.
All three affected pipes were rendered inoperable; Russia has confirmed one of the two Nord Stream 2 pipes is operable and is thus ready to deliver gas through Nord Stream 2.
The leaks occurred one day after Poland and Norway opened the alternative Baltic Pipe running through Denmark, bringing in gas from the North Sea rather than from Russia as the Nord Stream pipelines do.The leaks are located in international waters (not part of any nation’s territorial sea), but within the economic zones of Denmark and Sweden.
Nord Stream as captured by Planet Dove satellite ?️ :
Causes
Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that it likely was sabotage and also mentioned the detonations. Geological Survey of Denmark said that the tremors that had been detected were unlike those recorded during earthquakes, but similar to those recorded during explosions. The Swedish public service broadcaster SVT reported that measuring stations in both Sweden and Denmark recorded strong underwater explosions near the Nord Stream pipelines. Björn Lund, Associate Professor in Seismology at The Swedish National Seismic Network (SNSN) said “there is no doubt that these were explosions” at an estimated 100-kilogram (220 lb) TNT equivalent. European Union officials blamed sabotage, as did the secretary general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, and the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki.
The Kremlin said that it did not rule out sabotage as a reason for the damage to the Nord Stream pipelines. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said: “We cannot rule out any possibility right now. Obviously, there is some sort of destruction of the pipe. Before the results of the investigation, it is impossible to rule out any option.
The German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel wrote that the leaks are being investigated whether they may have been caused by targeted attacks by submarine or clearance divers.
According to German Federal Goverment circles, photos taken by the Federal Police with the support of the navy show a leak 8 metres (26 ft) long, which could only be the result of explosives.
Russian Involvement
CNN reported that European security officials observed Russian Navy support ships nearby where the leaks later occurred on 26 and 27 September. One week prior, Russian submarines were also observed nearby.
Finland’s national public broadcasting company Yle compared the incident to the two explosions in 2006 caused by remote-controlled military-grade charges. The explosions halted Russian gas supply to Georgia after the country had started seeking NATO membership.
United States representative to the UN Security Council, Richard Mills, stated that Russia “has a record, over the last seven months, of destroying civilian infrastructure across Ukraine”.
Involvement by the United States
In a widely shared post on Twitter, Polish MEP and former foreign affairs and defence minister Radek Sikorski stated simply, “Thank you, USA”, next to a photo of bubbling water above the pipeline damage. He followed this up with tweets in which he clarified that this was only speculation on his part, and that his view was based in part on a February joint press conference of United States President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during which Biden stated, “If Russia invades… then there will no longer be a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.” Sikorski’s post was criticized by many politicians and government officials. Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said it was harmful and served Russian propaganda. US State Department spokesman Ned Price responded by saying, “The idea that the United States was in any way involved in the apparent sabotage of these pipelines is preposterous.” Der Spiegel commented that Nord Stream 2 was already stopped two days before Russia invaded Ukraine, stopped entirely without explosives, and that what happened is exactly what Biden and Scholz had said would happen. Sikorski deleted the original and all follow-up tweets several days later.
At a UN Security Council meeting convened for the incident, Russian Federation representative Dmitry Polyansky suggested that the United States was involved in the pipeline damage. Polyansky referenced June 2022 NATO operations (BALTOPS) around Bornholm including tests of underwater vehicles in the area, that open data showed US helicopter flight paths coincided with the gas pipelines, and that USS Kearsarge did not depart the region until 20 September 2022. Adding that “the current energy crisis in Europe is objectively increasing the competitiveness of United States energy producers”. Richard Mills, representative of the United States, responded by denying any involvement in the damage and dismissed Polyansky’s claims as “Russian disinformation and conspiracy theories”.
Historical Background
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been mired in political, legal and environmental battles for many years, while Nord Stream 1 supplied a significant portion of the natural gas to Europe. Gazprom and the Russian State has often tried to use some leverage to open up Nord Steam 2 despite these objections. Similarly, ex-President Donald Trump said in 2019 that Nord Stream 2 could turn Europe into a “hostage of Russia” and placed sanction on any company assisting Russia to complete the pipeline.
In December 2020, then President Elect Joe Biden came out forcefully against the opening of the new pipeline and the impact this would have on potential Russian influence, however, in early 2022 it was reported that – while the Biden administration was “unwavering” in opposition to Nord Stream 2, it is “in the national interest of the United States” to waive these sanction, mainly to appease European allies of the US, particularly Germany.
Current Scenario
The Geological Survey of Denmark said that a seismograph on Bornholm showed two spikes on 26 September: the first P wave at 02:03 local time (CEST) had a magnitude of 2.3 and the second at 19:03 had a magnitude of 2.1. Similar data was provided by a seismograph at Stevns, and by several seismographs in Germany, Sweden (as far away as the station in Kalix 1,300 kilometres or 810 miles north), Finland and Norway.The seismic data was characteristic of underwater explosions, not natural events, and showed that they happened near the locations where the leaks were later discovered. Around the same time, pressure in the non-operating pipeline dropped from 10.50 to 0.70 megapascals (105 to 7 bar), as recorded by Nord Stream in Germany.
After Germany’s initial report of pressure loss in Nord Stream 2, a gas leak from the pipeline was discovered by a Danish F-16 interceptor response unit to the southeast of Dueodde, Bornholm. Nord Stream 2 consists of two parallel lines and the leak happened in line A inside the Danish economic zone. Citing danger to shipping, Danish Maritime Authority closed the sea for all vessels in a 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) zone around the leak site, and advised planes to stay at least 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above it. The pipe, which was not operating, had 300 million cubic metres (11 billion cubic feet) of pressurized gas in preparation for its first deliveries.
The Nord Stream pipelines have stopped leaking. But the methane emitted broke records. This is one of several leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines running between Russia and Germany. Methane from the leaks could have a powerful warming effect on the Earth’s atmosphere.