Oct 10, 2023 at 5:57 PM Update: an hour ago
A hole discovered on Sunday in a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia is likely the result of “outside activity”, according to Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. He emphasizes that the cause of the leak is still unclear.
The pipeline is located in the Baltic Sea, between Finland and Estonia. Both countries are still investigating the leak. According to the Finns, in addition to the pipeline, a telecom cable was also damaged.
Several media outlets have already speculated that sabotage may be involved, as the reports are reminiscent of last year’s explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Who was behind it has still not been clarified.
The Nord Stream pipelines connect Russia with Germany, but the only pipeline in use had already been closed by the Russians at the time of the explosions.
Finnish energy network is stable
Finland uses relatively little natural gas. It accounts for about 5 percent of the country’s total energy consumption. The damaged gas pipeline has been the only pipeline through which Finland can import gas since last year, as Russia’s state gas company Gazprom stopped gas supplies to the country last year.
That 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. Yet the situation on the Finnish energy network is stable, says gas network operator Gasgrid.
European gas prices rose by more than 10 percent on Tuesday afternoon. Prices on the gas market also rose on Monday, in response to the violence in Israel and Gaza. Energy company Chevron closed a gas field at the request of the Israeli government.
Image: Getty
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EnergyEstoniaEconomyFinland
2023-10-10 15:57:16
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