The war of sabotaged gas pipelines as seen by the Financial Times
Facts and controversies about the sabotage of two gas pipelines between Russia and Europe in the Financial Times in-depth analysis
The sabotage of two gas pipelines between Russia and Europe should serve as a wake-up call for the continent to protect its critical infrastructure, European officials have warned. The Financial Times writes.
Norway – which replaced Russia as the largest gas exporter to the EU in the wake of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine – is deploying its armed forces in oil and gas installations, and the Scandinavian country has increased its level of Preparation.
The EU promised "a strong and united response" to what it called a "deliberate act", while NATO and a growing number of European governments have said they believe the leaks are a case of sabotage.
Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the military alliance, met on Wednesday with Danish Defense Minister Morten Bødskov and declared that he had "addressed the issue of protecting critical infrastructure in NATO countries".
"Russia has a significant military presence in the Baltic Sea region and we expect it to continue to throw swords," Bødskov added.
US officials said the leaks appear to have been caused by sabotage. "We are absolutely not involved," said a senior US military official in response to a question asking whether US liability of any kind could be ruled out.
“Many of our partners, I believe, have determined or believe that this is sabotage. I'm not at the point where I can tell you one way or another, ”the officer added.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke to his Danish counterpart to offer support for the investigation into the leaks. The military official said the United States has not yet been asked to contribute to the investigation and noted that it is one of many countries capable of doing so.
According to the country's energy authority, the three leaks in the two Nord Stream gas pipelines, which occurred in international waters off the Danish island of Bornholm, are expected to last until Sunday. The authority added that the total climate impact would be equivalent to one third of Denmark's annual emissions.
Last Tuesday, a few hours after the explosions, a new gas pipeline from Norway to Poland was officially inaugurated, which also passes through Bornholm.
"These incidents show that the energy infrastructure is unsafe … They can be interpreted as a warning," Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Lithuanian parliament speaker, told local radio on Wednesday.
A leading Norwegian military officer warned that the Scandinavian country must take the threat to its infrastructure seriously, with pipelines leading to the UK, Germany, France, Belgium and now Poland.
"Norway's gas supply is probably the largest and most strategically important sabotage target in all of Europe right now," Lieutenant Colonel Geir Hågen Karlsen told state broadcaster NRK.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said there is "no specific threat" against his country. However, he said the military will be "more present and more visible" in the areas around Norway's oil and gas facilities following the losses and increased drone activity near platforms in the North Sea.
The pipeline leaks come as Europe struggles to find enough gas to replace Russian sources in anticipation of a forecasted tough winter for the continent.
Neither of the two Nord Stream pipelines were in operation after Russia cut off flows through one of them earlier this month. Germany blocked the other's approval process in February, before it opened.
Late Tuesday evening, Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas producer, indicated it could further reduce gas supplies to Europe, threatening supplies still passing through Ukraine.
The Russian firm has threatened to take action against Ukrainian state-owned gas company Naftogaz if it continues the arbitration procedure against Gazprom in Switzerland, a move analysts say would likely lead to disruption of flows.
"This would make real the worst scenario that European governments have been preparing for all summer: a European gas market without Russian gas," said Argus' Natasha Fielding.
The prime ministers of Denmark, Sweden and Norway have refused to speculate on possible reasons or who could be responsible for the Nord Stream leaks, but have urged a thorough investigation.
"Any deliberate disruption of Europe's energy infrastructure is absolutely unacceptable and will be addressed with a strong and united response," EU diplomat Josep Borrell said Wednesday in a statement.
Andriy Kobolyev, former CEO of the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz, has pointed the finger at Moscow. "By disabling the pipelines, Russia is protecting Gazprom from legal claims for non-delivery of gas to European customers," he said. "It allows the company to trigger force majeure clauses in its contracts."
The hypothesis that Russia may be involved is "predictably stupid and absurd," said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin , on Wednesday, according to Interfax. Russia has no reason to sabotage the pipelines, he added.
Writing on Telegram, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that Russia would convene a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the "provocations" of the pipeline.
Gas prices in Europe have jumped by more than 15% in the past two days, reaching around € 205 per megawatt hour, the highest level in nearly two weeks.
Simone Tagliapietra, senior fellow of the Bruegel think tank, said the losses "mark a new level of hybrid warfare" in Russia's energy war against Europe.
"This marks a new level of play," Tagliapietra said. "We must not minimize the risk of seeing hybrid attacks on our energy infrastructures, be they physical or cyber … We must learn and adapt very quickly."
(Extract from the foreign press review by Epr Comunicazione)
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/la-guerra-dei-gasdotti-sabotati-vista-dal-financial-times/ on Thu, 29 Sep 2022 13:19:10 +0000.