Denmark “Gas pipeline operator informs Northstream-1 and 2 that it is in stable condition”
Possibility of another clash over the subject of investigation between Russia and the West… Recovery is difficult if seawater enters
It seems that all gas leaks in the Nordstream, an undersea natural gas pipeline connecting Russia and Europe, have stopped for now.
The Danish Energy Agency announced on its Twitter account on the 2nd (local time) that “Norststream AG, the gas pipeline operator, has informed that the pressure in the gas pipeline at Nordstream-1 appears to have stabilized.”
He added that this means that the leak of Northstream-1 is over.
After the Energy Agency announced that the leak had stopped the day before, the leak of the Nordstream-1, which is known to be more severely damaged, also stopped leaking.
Northstream AG spokesman Ulrich Risek told AFP that “the gas pipe is almost blocked by the hydraulic pressure, so the gas inside the pipe is not coming out.”
As the gas leaked, the atmospheric pressure inside the gas pipe dropped, which caused a pressure equilibrium between the surrounding seawater and the gas, which is interpreted to mean that the leak temporarily stopped.
“The conclusion is that there is still gas inside the gas pipe,” said Risek, but he did not immediately respond to the amount of gas remaining.
Although the gas leak has stopped, it will take a considerable amount of time to determine the cause of the accident.
First of all, due to the nature of the submarine gas pipeline, it is practically difficult to access the site due to safety issues.
The leak point is in the waters of Denmark and Sweden, which are member countries of the European Union (EU), but since Gazprom, a Russian state-owned company, is the largest shareholder of AG, a Nordstream operator, it is difficult to determine the subject and method of investigation.
This is because both Russia and the West are unanimous in the need for an investigation, but are pointing arrows at each other over the cause of the accident.
Right now in the West, President Joe Biden has said that “we will work with our allies to find out exactly what happened.”
Germany has expressed its willingness to jointly investigate the leak area with Danish and Swedish authorities.
On the other hand, Russia has made it clear that it should not be excluded from the investigation as it is the owner of the gas pipeline.
The same goes for gas pipelines.
Gazprom spokesperson Sergei Kupriyanov told the UN Security Council on the 30th of last month (local time) that it was impossible to set a time for completion of the restoration as there had not been any leaks like this before. told
Some argue that if seawater flows into the gas pipe in earnest, the steel will be corroded by the brine, making it impossible to recover at all.
Earlier, on the 26th and 27th of last month, three Northstream-1 and Northstream-2 gas pipelines passing the seabed in Denmark and Sweden’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) were identified at leak points presumed to be caused by a large explosion. As one additional branch was found, concerns regarding safety accidents and environmental damage have increased.
/yunhap news
