Russia's Nord Stream Oil Pipelines Are Leaking After ‘Sabotage’: Who’s To Blame?

Gas leaks have been discovered on the subsea pipelines off the coasts of Denmark and Sweden.

On Monday, 26 September Nord Stream 1 and 2, key Russian oil pipelines to Germany, reported massive leaks.

(Photo: Pranay Dutta Roy/The Quint)

On Monday, 26 September, Nord Stream 1 and 2, key Russian oil pipelines to Germany, reported massive leaks, prompting investigations that determined that powerful underwater explosions had occurred just before the pipelines burst in several places. 

A video released by the Danish military showed the extent of the disturbances caused by the leaking pipeline.

This comes amid the tensions between the European countries and Russia over the latter's invasion of Ukraine.

What Are Nord Stream Pipelines?

A key natural gas pipeline, Nord Stream 1 flows directly to Germany and has become a key tributary of Russia's vast gas supply river to Europe, accounting for close to 35 percent of Europe’s total Russian gas imports in 2021. 

Nord Stream 2 is a sister project and had planned to supply 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, more than half of Germany’s annual consumption. The pipeline could have been worth as much as $15 billion to Russian state owned Gazprom, which controls the pipelines. 

The 'Sabotage'

Gas leaks were discovered on Monday off the coasts of Denmark and Sweden on the subsea pipelines, with the European Union investigating the cause, Reuters reported. It, however, said that it suspects sabotage was behind the damage , and promised a "robust" response to any intentional disruption of European energy infrastructure. 

"Two of these four are in Sweden's exclusive economic zone (EEZ)," a coast guard spokesperson said on Wednesday. The other two breaches are located in the Danish EEZ.

Russia has also said sabotage was a possibility.

While neither pipelines were being used at the time of the blasts, they were filled with gas that have been spewing into the Baltic Sea since Monday.

Who Is Behind the Sabotage?

As of now, it is unclear if Russia or the West are to blame for the new flashpoint in a tumultuous relationship but both of them have hinted to blame one another.

A Kremlin spokesperson said on Thursday that leaks appeared to be the result of state-sponsored "terrorism," while Russian embassy in Washington accused the United States of attempts to "squeeze out" Russia from the energy market through "non-market methods and sanctions."

"This looks like an act of terrorism, possibly on a state level. It is very difficult to imagine that such an act of a terrorism could have happened without the involvement of a state of some kind," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Although the EU has not directly blamed Russia, or anyone else, its foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, "Any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable and will be met with a robust and united response."

Th United States said that it was too soon to conclude there was sabotage. "The jury is still out," a senior US military official told repoters, according to Reuters. "Many of our partners, I think, have determined or believe it is sabotage. I'm just... I'm not at the point where I can tell you one way or the other," the official added.

However, a CNN report, citing three sources, claimed that European security officials had observed Russian navy support ships and submarines in the vicinity of the leaks.

Responding to the claims made in the report, Peskov said that NATO had a much larger presence in the area.

Who Is Most Affected by the Damage?

Nord Stream 1 and 2 have remained at the heart of the EU's brewing energy crisis amid the Russian invasion. In September, several G7 countries agreed on a price cap on Russian oil, attempting to disrupt Moscow’s ability to finance the war, while putting a lid on global inflation. Russia retaliated by halting gas supplies to Europe.

The Nord Stream damage matters more for Europe, given the risks it brings. Andreas Goldthau, an energy expert at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt was quoted as saying by Vox:

“The supply situation is very tight. Every single molecule that we can find, we bring into Europe, at whatever price at the moment.”

Before the war, Europe’s gas supply from Russia was close to 40 percent, and now, is down to 9 percent. 

But Europe’s lack of options does not leave much room to manage their energy requirements, especially given the brewing energy crisis throughout the continent, threatening a cold winter. 

German authorities claimed that the leaks will not affect its plan to fill gas storage tanks during the winter.

Gas prices have risen on fears that Russia could halt supplies to Europe through Ukraine, adding to turmoil caused by damage to the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea.

Europe's Alternatives

Germany has been searching for alternatives to Russian gas ever since it halted the certification of the Nord Stream 2. It could, according to Reuters, turn towards Britain, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands.

Norway has been increasing its production levels to help the EU countries achieve their target of ending reliance on Russian fossil fuels by the year 2027.

Another option is to get more gas from Algeria and Azerbaijan, which currently supply about 20 percent and 10 percent of Europe's gas respectively.

Then there is liquefied natural gas. The problem here is that an increase in supply of LNG to Europe would result in a reduction of LNG supply elsewhere until production increases (constructing a new production facility for LNG takes more than two years).

Reducing consumption is something that Europe has to bank on. At the same time, it has to manage the prices as well.

(With inputs from Reuters, Vox, The Guardian, CNN, and Bloomberg)