UpdateThe leak in an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia is “probably the result of external activity,” says Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. The business news agency ‘Bloomberg’ previously wrote about the track that sabotage may have occurred. However, according to those sources, there are “no final conclusions yet”. The gas price continues to rise.
In the submarine pipeline in question in the Baltic Sea, an unexpected loss of pressure occurred on Saturday night in Finnish waters. Both Finland and Estonia immediately started investigations. “It is likely that the damage to the gas pipeline and telecom cable is the result of outside activity,” Sauli Niinistö said. He emphasized that it is still unclear what caused the leak. Finland and Estonia are still investigating the case.
The Finnish government gave a press conference on Tuesday afternoon with more details. According to Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, the damage cannot have been caused by normal use or pressure fluctuations. “The damage is probably the result of external activities,” Orpo confirmed what Finnish President Niinistö also said.
“Russian involvement
The tabloid Iltalehti quotes sources within diplomacy and security services as saying that the government and army suspect Russian involvement. According to Finnish and Estonian seismologists, no seismic activity indicative of an explosion has been recorded near the pipeline.
Orpo did not want to answer the question of whether Russia could be behind the facts. “It is important that the matter is thoroughly investigated and that too far-reaching conclusions are not drawn at this stage.”
Orpo also said it had been in contact with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas over the past three days. “We are members of NATO and the EU and we continue to consult with them. Contact has already been made with Estonia and I plan to do the same with Sweden,” said Orpo.
The Finnish president also had contact with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He stated on X, formerly Twitter, that the alliance is ready to provide support and share information.
Jens Stoltenberg @jensstoltenberg
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Damage to data cable
In addition to the leak in the undersea gas pipeline – in Finnish waters – clear damage to a data cable was also found on Monday morning, the Finnish Border Guard said at the press conference. Because that cable is in Estonian waters, Estonian authorities are leading that investigation.
“Despite the damage to the data cable, communications services and broadband connections in Finland are working normally,” said Traficom, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency. “At Traficom we received information on Sunday about the broken sea cable. According to normal procedure, a backup connection was switched.”
The Finnish national research agency KRP is conducting a technical investigation in the area surrounding the leak. “We are investigating the chronology of the two events (the leak and the damage to the data cable, ed.) to find out whether there is a connection.” The KRP also does not dare to speculate about possible persons responsible.
Nord Stream
The messages are reminiscent of the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year. It is still not clear who was behind it. The Nord Stream pipelines connect Russia with Germany, but the only one of the two pipelines in use had already been closed by the Russians at the time of the explosions.
Finland uses relatively little natural gas. It accounts for about 5 percent of the country’s total energy consumption. The damaged gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland had been in use since early 2020. Since last year, it has been the only pipeline through which Finland can import gas, as Russian state gas company Gazprom stopped gas supplies last year. This happened because Finland refused to pay for gas in rubles, a demand the Kremlin made to “unfriendly” states that support Ukraine in the war with Russia.
The Finnish gas network operator Gasgrid called the situation on the energy network stable. This is possible thanks to the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) via a floating terminal at Inko in the south of the country.
Gas price at highest level in four months
Due to the escalating violence between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, gas prices rose further on Tuesday to the highest level in four months. Energy company Chevron already closed a gas field at the request of the Israeli government. The news of possible sabotage of the gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia sent gas prices higher later in the day.
Yle News @ylenews
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European gas prices rose more than 10 percent on Tuesday afternoon. The gas price also rose to almost 50 euros per megawatt hour on the Amsterdam gas exchange – a benchmark for Europe. This is an increase of 12 percent. On Monday, the gas price on that exchange had also risen by almost 15 percent.
European gas price extremely sensitive
Despite the fact that European gas supplies are almost completely full for the winter and industrial demand for gas is still well below the historical average, the European gas price remains extremely sensitive to changes in supply. This is because Russian gas supplies to Europe have almost completely disappeared since last year and must be supplemented with the import of LNG (liquefied natural gas, ed.) from other parts of the world.
For example, the gas price also rose last week, after staff in Australian LNG factories announced that they would stop work again in order to, among other things, demand higher wages. Last weekend, a leak was discovered in a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.
Colder period coming
Meanwhile, weather forecasts show that temperatures in northwestern Europe are likely to drop from next week, prompting more people to turn on the heat. In addition, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that low industrial demand for gas and large inventories still do not guarantee stable prices during the heating season. “The risk of price volatility, especially in the event of a cold winter, is a cause for concern,” the IEA said.
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Gas prices rise to the highest level in four months
ANALYSIS. Should we fear an energy crisis again this winter? (+)
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2023-10-10 12:22:30
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