It is possible to restore the infrastructure of the damaged Nord Stream (SP) and Nord Stream 2 (NS-2) gas pipelines. However, the question is one of cost, desire and permission, because so far everything is going to the fact that Russia can be pushed back from the investigation and possibly even prevented from repair work. Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund, announced this to Izvestia on October 3.
“Let’s see what the first statements will be from Denmark and Sweden, while we are talking about the fact that the Russian Federation will not be included in the international commission to investigate the incident. Although the pipes are wholly owned by Gazprom <...>, therefore, we should be allowed, but it is not a fact that this will happen in modern conditions, therefore, it will be possible to make any dates and preliminary cost estimates when there is an inspection of the pipe and initial data on its condition. , said the expert.
He noted that if all parties wanted to repair the SP and SP-2, then perhaps such work could be completed within six months.
“Now it is unclear how long it will stretch. The longer the repair process is delayed, the more corrosion there will be, because the gas has escaped and water has poured into the pipes. Over time, it will be more and more expensive to restore this pipe,” Yushkov emphasized.
At the same time, the analyst added that Russia will also take into account the cost factor.
“It will be necessary to take into account how much it is necessary to restore the performance of pipes, taking into account the fact that there is a risk that they will never be used, so this should not be forgotten either,” he said.
According to him, initially Russia proceeds from the fact that it will repair the gas pipeline, at least to prove that it was not involved in the incident.
Earlier that day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was necessary to organize the restoration of the damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines, but it was premature to talk about the time frame for this, and whether Russia could count on international cooperation in this matter.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak said on October 2 that it is technically possible to repair gas pipelines, but this will take a lot of time and money.
On the same day, on September 26, a pressure drop was recorded on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. It was reported that three threads of the system were damaged. The next day, a representative of the Seismic Center of Sweden, Bjorn Lund, said that two powerful underwater explosions were registered in the area of leaks in pipelines at the time of the emergency. The Kremlin did not rule out that sabotage could be the cause of the accidents.
German Interior Minister Nancy Feather said on October 1 that Germany, Denmark and Sweden intend to unite to investigate the circumstances of the accidents.
Exports via Nord Stream have been suspended since the end of August due to problems with the repair of Siemens turbines after the imposition of anti-Russian sanctions, however, the pipeline was filled with gas. Nord Stream 2, whose construction was completed in September 2021, was never put into operation, but was filled with fuel.
#analyst #assessed #possibility #restoring #Nord #Streams