Russia assessed the possibility of closing Nord Streams forever

Gas workers from Russia reacted with bewilderment to German media publications that both the Nord Stream pipeline lines damaged by the accident and the entire Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could allegedly be completely closed forever, since salty sea water would corrode them. writes Kommersant with reference to competent sources in the gas industry.

According to one of them, at present there is no water at all in the damaged pipes, since gas is escaping from them, and water simply cannot penetrate there as a result of the pressure difference. After the overwhelming amount of “blue fuel” comes out and the pressure in the gas pipeline drops, water can get into the pipes in those places where there were damages. However, since there will still be gas in the pipes, the water will not completely fill them, but is more likely to penetrate only small sections, the source of the newspaper shared his point of view.

Another source of the newspaper believes that during the repair work on the gas pipeline, the Russian and German sides can put in plugs that will block the disabled section on each thread and force salty sea water out of the pipes. In addition, the pipes, even on the inside, have a special coating of epoxy resin that prevents the development of corrosion. “It is difficult, but possible,” a source close to Gazprom appropriately assessed the possibility of restoring Nord Stream.

According to experts, under an optimistic scenario, which implies a quick start of repair work, the cost of repairs can reach up to 200 million euros, with a pessimistic scenario – up to 600-700 million euros.

Earlier, the German security services did not rule out that both threads of the Nord Stream pipeline damaged by the accident and the entire Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline were no longer usable and would be closed forever. In their opinion, the pipelines cannot be repaired in a short time, and the gas pipelines are currently receiving a huge amount of salt water, which in the future will lead to corrosion.

On September 26, a leak occurred on one of the lines of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the exclusive economic zone of Denmark. After that, the operating company Nord Stream AG issued a statement in which it announced that the pressure had dropped on both strings of Nord Stream.