New excitement at Nord Stream 2: Pressure drop leaves guesswork

Created: 09/26/2022, 15:29

By: Patricia Huber

The Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 is not in operation.

Now the pressure has dropped drastically.

Experts are puzzled.

Lubmin – According to the operator, there was a drastic pressure drop in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on Monday night.

The responsible naval authorities in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Russia were informed immediately, said the spokesman for the pipeline operator Nord Stream 2 AG, Ulrich Lissek, on Monday.

The investigation into the incident in Tube A is ongoing.

Pressure drop in Russian gas pipeline: research into the cause is difficult

"There must be a hole somewhere," said Lissek of the German Press Agency.

"Only no one knows where." It could be that gas escapes in the offshore area.

If that were the case on land, you would notice it.

Normally there is a pressure of 105 bar.

Now it is only 7 bar on the German side.

Research into the causes is very difficult for Nord Stream 2 AG: They are under sanctions, have hardly any staff and funds are frozen.

"The authorities are all informed." In Lubmin, the place where the pipeline lands in Germany, to the knowledge of Lissek, there are no Nord Stream 2 AG personnel.

You can't place any orders either, because you can't pay for them, and you have to see where you can get information from, said Lissek.

Nord Stream 2: Economics Ministry still has “no clarity about the causes”

The Federal Ministry of Economics announced in Berlin that the causes and the exact facts were not yet clear.

"We are currently in contact with the authorities concerned to clarify the matter," said a spokeswoman.

It is still being clarified whether the incident occurred in German territorial waters.

The Ministry was informed by the network operator Gascade on Monday that there had been a sharp drop in pressure in the pipeline.

The exchange is now taking place between the Ministry, the network operator, the Federal Network Agency, the Federal Police and the local mining authority in Stralsund as well as the responsible state ministries in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

"In addition, the Danish authorities were also informed as a precautionary measure," the spokeswoman continued.

There are apparently problems with the gas pipeline Nord Stream 2. Pressure drop suggests a hole.

© Jens Büttner/dpa

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According to its own statements, the State Ministry for the Environment of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was not yet aware of the pressure drop early Monday afternoon.

The company Gascade said they had found an anomaly.

The company operates gas infrastructure in Lubmin, to which Nord Stream 2 is also connected.

However, Gascade is not responsible for the Nord Stream 2 offshore pipelines.

Nord Stream 2: No commissioning, but still filled with gas

The double strand of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline runs 1,230 kilometers from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany.

She is completed and filled with gas, but she has never imported gas.

The federal government had put the approval process for the completed line on hold in February shortly before the Russian attack on Ukraine and even then emphasized that commissioning was out of the question.

Shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States imposed sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and made all transactions with the Swiss-based company impossible.

Only recently was an impending bankruptcy averted again.

The responsible court extended a provisional debt restructuring moratorium until January 10, 2023. Creditors will not be able to collect any money with it until at least January.

A trustee appointed by the court can check whether a restructuring or an agreement with the creditors has a chance of success.

If this is not the case, bankruptcy proceedings must be opened under Swiss law.