The Danish Energy Agency now says that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline appears to have stopped leaking natural gas.
In a tweet Saturday, the agency said it had been informed by the pipeline’s operator that pressures appear to have stabilized in the pipeline, which carries natural gas from Russia to Germany.
The Danish Energy Agency noted that, “This indicates that the leaking of gas in this pipeline has ceased.” No mechanism was speculated as to how it had ceased leaking.
Undersea blasts, which investigators estimate required several hundred pounds of explosives, damaged both the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. The Nord Stream 1 had been taken out of service over technical difficulties, however the Nord Stream 2 had been completed and pressurized, and was only inactive due to political and bureaucratic snafus. Russia had indicated it would be happy to sell Germany as much gas as it needed through the pipeline, and in a recent protest, German citizens demanded in be opened, however the government had so far refused to allow its use.
In a speech Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had accused the Untied States of sabotaging the pipeline, however the US vehemently denied the charges.
The heated exchange continued in a emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, called by Russia, where Norwegian researchers revealed a map projecting that a huge plume of methane from the leaks was set to flow over large areas of the Nordic region.
European nations have been laboring under an energy crisis which has driven inflation to new records, as it has threatened to shut businesses, deindustrialize entire regions, and cripple economies. Russia had been using the delivery of gas as both a political lever and a source of funds to wage the war in Ukraine.
In Germany where the population was demanding the opening of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the gas had become a potent political weapon, splitting the German government from its citizens, and triggering unrest, as it pressured Germany to change its political tack with respect to Russia.
It is unclear as of yet if the cessation of the leak will be permanent, or if it will allow the gas line to potentially be reopened, which would reignite calls for Germany to abandon its political objectives in Ukraine and normalize relations with Russia.
