The Danish authorities announced today, Sunday, that the gas leakage from two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea has stopped, confirming statements made yesterday by an official of the pipeline operator.
The Danish Energy Authority stated - on Twitter today, Sunday - that Nord Stream AG (the operator of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline) underwater confirmed that the pressure in the pipeline has stabilized, adding that this indicates that there is no more gas leaking.
And the authority had already announced yesterday, Saturday, that gas had stopped leaking from the underwater "Nord Stream 2" pipeline.
Ulrich Lisek, a spokesman for the company operating the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, said yesterday, Saturday, that the gas leak from the pipelines under the Baltic Sea ended as a result of a pressure balance between gas and water.
"The pressure of the water led to the closure of the pipeline in a way that prevents the gas inside it from leaking," Lysek told AFP, explaining that "there is still gas in the pipeline."
In turn, the Swedish authorities said yesterday that the amount of gas leaking from pipelines is declining.
Although the two pipelines are not currently operating, they contained gas before they were exposed to what appears to be a sabotage process that led to four leaks.
underwater explosions
A Danish-Swedish report issued on Friday concluded that the leaks were caused by underwater explosions equivalent in scope to the use of hundreds of kilograms of explosives.
The two countries said that "all available information indicates that these explosions were the result of a deliberate act," but the cause of the explosions remains ambiguous, with Moscow and Washington denying responsibility for them and accusing each other of the matter.
The leaks, which were detected last Monday, occurred off the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.
Lysek revealed that the company operating the "Nord Stream 2" line informed the Danish Energy Regulatory Authority yesterday, Saturday, that the gas leak had ended.
The Danish authorities had suggested that the leaks would continue until the pipelines run out of gas, and they expected that to happen on Sunday, which they have already announced.