Reuters: Russia may mothball the blown-up Nord Stream

The Russian gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, which were blown up in September last year, may be mothballed, informs Reuters, citing sources.

“The Russian subsea gas pipelines Nord Stream will be closed and mothballed, as there are no plans to repair them or resume operation,” one of the agency’s sources said.

The sources noted that the conservation of pipelines is necessary for the possible work on their restoration in the future. “Most likely, this will mean sealing the breaks and coating the pipes to prevent further corrosion from seawater,” the agency said. However, one of the interlocutors told Reuters that Russia considers this project “buried”.

“To the best of our knowledge as a minority shareholder, no decision has been made either for or against the restoration of the line,” said a representative of the German company E.On, which owns a stake in Nord Stream AG (the Swiss company created to manage the Nord Stream gas pipeline ). Other shareholders of the company, in particular the French Engie, the Dutch Gasunie, and the German Wintershall DEA, declined to comment.

Explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines occurred on September 26, 2022. Then the Russian authorities admitted that it could be a “terrorist attack at the state level”. Sweden and Denmark are investigating the incident, but Russia is not allowed before it.

February 8 American journalist Seymour Hersh published an investigation that accused the United States and Norway of involvement in blowing up pipelines. The US authorities and the European Commission called the text of the journalist’s investigation unreliable. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov at the end of February declaredthat Russia sees a “blank wall of unwillingness” of the West to thoroughly and transparently investigate the bombings at Nord Stream.