2 yıl önce

Nord Stream 2 gas leak stops

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which carry Russian natural gas to Europe, were leaking after underwater explosions.

AP

The source of the explosions has remained a mystery.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has stopped leaking gas under the Baltic Sea because an equilibrium has been reached between the gas and water pressure.

"The water pressure has more or less closed the pipeline so that the gas which is inside can't go out," Nord Stream 2 spokesperson Ulrich Lissek said on Saturday.

"The conclusion is that there is still gas in the pipeline," he added. Asked how much gas was believed to be in the pipeline, Lissek said: "That is the one-million-dollar question."

The Danish Energy Agency also reported that pressure appears to have stabilised in the pipeline.

“This indicates that the leaking of gas in this pipeline has ceased,” the agency said.

Information on the status of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline leak, which was significantly larger, was not immediately available.

'A deliberate act'

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions following Moscow's military operation in Ukraine.

While the pipelines are not currently in operation, they both still contain gas before they fell victim to apparent sabotage, producing four leaks.

A Danish-Swedish report released on Friday concluded the leaks were caused by underwater explosions corresponding to hundreds of kilogrammes of explosives.

"All available information indicates that those explosions are the result of a deliberate act," the countries said.

The source of the explosions has remained a mystery, however, with both Moscow and Washington denying responsibility.

Danish authorities had said the leaks would continue until the gas in the pipelines is exhausted, which is expected to occur on Sunday.

The Swedish coastguard said late on Friday that the leaks on Nord Stream 2 showed signs of weakening due to the exhaustion of the gas contained in the pipes.

The leak on Nord Stream 1 had also started to weaken on Friday, with surface diameter down to 600 metres, down from between 900 and 1,000 metres on Monday.