Hours after gas leak was reported on the Nord Stream 2 on the Russia-Europe gas pipeline, the Scandinavian authorities found two unexplained leaks on Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday morning.
At the time of the leaks, neither pipeline was funnelling gas to Europe.
Denmark’s climate and energy ministry confirmed the fresh leaks hours after Germany reported a drop in pressure in the pipeline.
“Yesterday, a leak was detected on one of the two gas pipelines between Russia and Denmark – Nord Stream 2. The pipeline is not in operation, but contains natural gas, which is now leaking,” Denmark’s energy minister Dan Jorgensen said in a written comment.
“Authorities have now been informed that there have been 2 more leaks on Nord Stream 1, which is also not in operation but contains gas,” he added.
The pipeline operator, Nord Stream AG, on Tuesday said three offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system have sustained “unprecedented” damage in a day.
It further said they are finding out the cause, but didn’t provide further information on when the gas network system’s working capability would be restored.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was intended to roughly double the capacity for undersea gas imports from Russia. However, it was blocked by Germany in the days before the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian energy giant Gazprom gradually reduced the volumes of gas transports through Nord Stream 1 until it shut the pipeline completely at the end of August, accusing the Western sanctions for the delay of necessary repairs to the pipeline.
(With inputs from agencies)
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