End of Nord Stream 2 leaks

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany, no longer leaks under the Baltic Sea, a spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany, no longer leaks under the Baltic Sea, a spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

“The water pressure has more or less closed the pipeline, so that the gas inside cannot get out,” said Ulrich Lissek, spokesman for Nord Stream 2.

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“The conclusion is that there is still gas in the pipeline,” he added, without being able to specify the amount.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 infrastructures, built to bring Russian gas to Europe, were damaged by underwater explosions off a Danish island in the Baltic Sea on Monday, causing widespread boiling.

Information about the status of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline leak was not immediately available.

The two pipelines operated by a consortium dependent on the Russian giant Gazprom have not been operational due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

But both were still filled with gas.

On Friday evening, the Swedish Coast Guard had announced that the leaks on Nord Stream 2 were showing great signs of weakening due to the depletion of the gas contained in the pipes.

The diameter of the surface bubbling caused by the leak in the Swedish exclusive economic zone was only 20 meters wide, ten times less than when it started.

The leak on Nord Stream 1, which is more powerful, had also begun to weaken late Friday, with a sea bubble that had fallen to 600 meters in diameter, compared to 900 to 1,000 initially.

The Danish and Swedish authorities had estimated Friday in a letter to the UN Security Council that the leaks should stop by Sunday, with the exhaustion of tens of thousands of tons of gas contained in the pipelines.

“All available information indicates that these explosions are the consequence of a deliberate act,” Sweden and Denmark also wrote, without pointing to a responsible country.

However, the origin of the explosions remains a mystery, with Moscow and Washington denying any responsibility.

Ukraine claimed that the leaks were the result of a “planned terrorist attack” by Russia against European countries.

Russia: economic crisis at Gazprom in the face of sanctions and sabotage

In 2023, Gazprom posted a record loss of 6.4 billion euros, marked by international sanctions and the sabotage of its pipelines. These challenges highlight Gazprom’s vulnerabilities and the geopolitical tensions disrupting the Russian energy sector. Faced with these crises, the company is now focusing its efforts on Asian markets, hoping to find stability and new opportunities there.

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