China News Agency, Berlin, September 28th: What is the impact of the "North Stream" pipeline natural gas leak?
China News Agency reporter Ma Xiuxiu
The Danish Energy Agency confirmed on the 27th local time that the "Nord Stream-1" and "Nord Stream-2" natural gas pipelines located in the waters near Denmark had leaked, and it subsequently called on the power and natural gas departments to increase their alertness.
At a time when Europe's energy dilemma is difficult to solve, will the leak make Germany's natural gas supply "worse"?
Did this event happen by accident or deliberately?
Will this incident have any impact on the progress of the situation in Russia and Ukraine?
Data map: The pipeline of the "Beixi-2" natural gas pipeline project landing facility.
German gas supply still safe
According to the Federal Network Agency, the German energy regulator, the leak of natural gas from the Nord Stream pipeline will not have an impact on the security of natural gas supply.
Because when the leak occurred, the two pipelines were not supplied with gas.
The "Beixi-1" pipeline was completed in 2011. It starts from Vyborg, Russia in the east and leads to Germany via the seabed of the Baltic Sea. At the beginning of September this year, the pipeline was completely stopped due to equipment maintenance. The "Beixi-2" pipeline was completed last year. It is basically parallel to "Beixi-1" and has not yet been put into use, but some natural gas is still sealed in the pipeline.
Currently, Germany mainly imports natural gas from Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium.
German gas storage has been steadily increasing since July 19.
According to the Federal Network Agency, the filling level of natural gas storage facilities in Germany is currently more than 91%.
However, the "North Stream" pipeline operating company said on the 27th that it is not yet possible to estimate the time required for the pipeline repair.
Against this background, the possibility of Russia restarting gas transmission via the "Nord Stream" pipeline in the near future has become less likely, which will push the price of natural gas in Europe to rise further.
According to the "Focus Weekly" report, the TTF benchmark Dutch natural gas futures price rose to 194 euros per megawatt hour on the 27th, from about 188 euros before.
Shipping and climate are affected
The spill has a certain degree of impact on shipping.
Danish authorities on the 26th have asked ships to avoid the waters within a 5-nautical-mile radius of Bornholm Island, near the incident.
The relevant person in charge of the German Shipowners' Association (VDR) pointed out that the "North Stream-2" pipeline leakage incident directly affects shipping.
However, as long as the ship changes course as required, there is no immediate danger to the ocean.
"At the moment, changing the route will not cause major delays in shipping."
At the same time, environmental experts estimate that the spill will have short-term effects on the climate and environment on a local scale.
"According to the current understanding, the leakage of natural gas from the 'North Stream' pipeline will not pose a major hazard to the marine environment of the Baltic Sea." A spokesman for the German Federal Ministry of the Environment said that this was summed up from the North Sea incident.
"Methane leaks have also occurred there, but with no direct consequences for the marine environment."
The head of the Marine Protection Office of the German Federation of Environment and Nature Conservation said that marine life, especially those that fail to escape quickly, will face the danger of suffocation.
As the main component of natural gas, methane is 25 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide.
The cause of the incident remains to be determined or may affect the situation in Russia and Ukraine
At present, the cause of the leak is still under investigation, and many European countries are maintaining close contact over the development.
The operator of the "North Stream-2" natural gas pipeline pointed out that the way the lines are laid makes it extremely unlikely that multiple lines will be damaged at the same time due to reasons such as boating accidents.
Several European leaders, including European Commission President von der Leyen, said the leak was not an "accident" but a "deliberate".
On behalf of the 27 EU member states, Josep Borrell, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs, pointed out on the 28th that the existing information shows that the natural gas leakage of the "North Stream" pipeline was caused by deliberate behavior.
Any deliberate sabotage of Europe's energy infrastructure would "get a strong collective response".
In this incident, there are voices in Europe pointing the finger at Russia.
In this regard, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov said on the 28th that a series of unfounded speculations accusing Russia of being the mastermind behind the "North Stream" incident are stupid and absurd, and the Russian side will insist on requiring Gazprom to participate in the relevant investigation.
Whether the progress of the situation in Russia and Ukraine is affected by this has caused concern.
Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki said the sabotage "could be a further escalation of the situation in Ukraine that we need to deal with".
The German newspaper Die Welt pointed out that the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline shows the vulnerability of Europe.
Although the context is unclear, this will bring more unity to the European sanctions talks on Russia.
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