Breaking News:

Oil Prices Stabilize as Geopolitical Risk Cools

Sweden Finds A Fourth Leak In Nord Stream Pipelines

Four leaks, two in each of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, were discovered after gas started leaking earlier this week from the infrastructure just outside Swedish and Danish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea, Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reports, quoting Sweden's Coast Guard.

Until now, three leaks from the two pipelines had been reported-two on Nord Stream 1 pipes, and one on Nord Stream 2. According to the Swedish Coast Guard, the fourth leak is on Nord Stream 2, close to a rupture found on the twin Nord Stream 1 pipeline.   

Two of the four leaks are close to each other in the Swedish exclusive economic zone near Simrishamn, the Coast Guard says as quoted by Svenska Dagbladet.

Nord Stream 2 was never put into operation after Germany axed the certification process following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia, for its part, shut down Nord Stream 1 indefinitely early this month, claiming an inability to repair gas turbines because of the Western sanctions.

Until yesterday, Russian analysts claimed that one of the four lines of the Russian Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines could still be able to ship gas to Europe if Nord Stream 2 received all necessary certifications.

Now it looks like all four lines of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 were damaged in mysterious circumstances. The EU as a whole believes the gas leaks from the pipelines in the Baltic Sea were the result of a deliberate act of sabotage and not an accident or a mere technical failure.  

The European Union said in a statement on Wednesday, "All available information indicates those leaks are the result of a deliberate act."

Denmark's Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said earlier this week, commenting on the gas leaks and explosions in the Baltic Sea, "We're coordinating the situation closely with US and other allies, including on next steps. We will get to the bottom of these incidents and act on them together."  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com

Back to homepage


Loading ...

« Previous: UK Food Inflation Swells To Highest Rate Ever Recorded

Next: Russia Is Flaring Less And Keeping Natural Gas In The Ground »

Tsvetana Paraskova

Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews.  More