How dangerous is Nord stream gas leak for the world?

The Kremlin said on Tuesday it was "extremely concerned" about reported leaks in Russia's Nord Stream gas pipeline to Europe through the Baltic Sea and its sister Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Asked by journalists if it could be an act of sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that at the moment "it is impossible to rule out any options."

Ships were warned to stay out of a five-nautical-mile radius off the Danish island of Bornholm after a leak was detected Monday night. The cause was not immediately clear.

Nord Stream 2 operator

The Nord Stream 2 operator said the pressure in the subsea pipeline fell from 105 to 7 bar overnight.

The Russian-owned pipeline, which was intended to double the volume of gas flowing from Vyborg, Russia, under the Baltic Sea to Germany, had just been completed and filled with 300 million cubic meters of gas when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, I cancel it. shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine.

European countries have resisted Russian calls to allow Nord Stream 2 to operate and accused Moscow of using the energy as a weapon. Russia denies doing so and blames the West for the gas shortage.

“We are currently in contact with the corresponding authorities to clarify the situation. We are still not clear on the exact causes and facts," said a statement from the German Economics Ministry.

The Swiss-based pipeline operator, which was legally liquidated, said it had informed all relevant authorities and that the leak, if that was the cause, could not have been at the landing point in Lubmin, in the north of Germany. "If it was in Lubmin, you would have heard it," the spokesman said.

Extremely rare

"Gas pipeline leaks are extremely rare and therefore we see a reason to increase the level of preparedness following the incidents we have witnessed in the last 24 hours," Danish Energy Agency director Dr. Kristoffer Bottzauw.

"We want to ensure comprehensive control of Denmark's critical infrastructure to strengthen security of supply in the future," he added.

Ola Westberg, a spokesman for the Swedish Energy Agency, told AFP on Tuesday that no decision had yet been made and that "they were in dialogue with Denmark."

Built in parallel to the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, Nord Stream 2 was intended to double the capacity to import Russian gas to Germany.

But Berlin blocked the recently completed Nord Stream 2 in the days before the war.

Germany, which has relied heavily on fossil fuel imports from Russia to meet its energy needs, has since come under acute strain as Moscow has cut supplies.

Russian energy giant Gazprom progressively reduced the volumes of gas being delivered via Nord Stream 1 until it shut down the pipeline entirely in late August, blaming Western sanctions for delaying necessary pipeline repairs.

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