After the alleged sabotage of the Nordstream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, Danish police announced on Tuesday that they had received reports of unauthorized drone flights near gas fields in the North Sea, following similar incidents on the Norwegian side.
“We have had reports over the weekend of drones in the North Sea,” a police spokesman told AFP.
According to the trade publication Danish Offshore Industry, drones have been observed near the Roar gas field, operated by the French group TotalEnergies, more than 200 km off the coast in western Denmark.
This is the second time in a week that such incidents have been reported.
On Thursday, the daily Ekstra Bladet reported “unauthorized” drone activity over the Halfdan B field, also operated by the French giant.
When questioned, the group referred to the Danish authorities. “Regarding unauthorized drone activity near our North Sea facilities, TotalEnergies refers to the Danish authorities to whom we report any potential sightings,” the French giant told AFP.
The group assured that it had taken “the necessary measures concerning security procedures”.
With the alleged sabotage of gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany through its exclusive economic zone, Denmark has taken security around its energy infrastructure up a notch.
Neighbouring Norway, now Europe’s main gas supplier, has followed suit, considering its oil facilities a potential target of choice.
Norwegian authorities have cited an increasing number of drone sightings near oil facilities as justification for increased security in the sector.
