Norway and Poland
After alleged sabotage destroyed the Nord Stream pipes, natural gas is expected to flow through a new undersea route between Norway and Poland.
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| The Goleniow Gas Compressor Station near Budno, Poland, is a part of the new Baltic Pipe natural gas connection between Poland and Norway. Credit... Cezary Aszkielowicz/Reuters, Agency Wyborcza |
New natural gas pipeline to open in Europe in decades
For Europeans seeking to attain energy independence from Russia, this should be cause for celebration: The only new natural gas pipeline to open in Europe in decades, Baltic Pipe, is scheduled to begin transporting gas on Saturday.
Baltic Pipe, an initiative of Poland with funding from the European Union, to begin operations in 2018 and transport gas from Norway's abundant energy resources to Central Europe via the Polish coast. The gas may then travel through land-based pipelines to other member states of the European Union in the area.
However, the alleged sabotage this week on the two Nord Stream pipelines overshadows their opening. Concerns regarding the possible vulnerability of the newest gas link passing across the Baltic Sea have been rekindled in light of the destruction of the twin undersea arteries.
Poland has long dreamed of the Baltic Pipe and sees it as a crucial step in reducing its reliance on Russian gas, which hasn't reached the nation since Russia shut off deliveries in April.
The Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki declared at a ceremony on Tuesday that a new age of energy sovereignty, energy freedom, and increased security had begun.
However, worries that this freedom might be in danger have increased in the days since the Nord Stream pipelines started spewing methane into the atmosphere. The disclosures have been referred described as "sabotage" by both European and Russian leaders, who claim that only a state actor could have carried them out.
The damage increases the risk to Europe's entire energy supply, which is already struggling to wean itself off of decades of dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Additionally, it makes analysts worry about a dramatic uptick in the proxy energy conflict between Moscow and the West since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
According to market research firm Fitch Solutions, which used Baltic Pipe as an example, "the risk to near-term gas flows has substantially increased on fears that further sabotage could occur on vital gas import pipelines."
According to experts, the new pipeline is a part of a larger initiative by the European Union to diversify the energy infrastructure, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. It has the capacity to transport up to 10 billion cubic metres per year, or enough to replace the amount of natural gas that Poland had received from Russia.
According to Benjamin L. Schmitt, a research associate at Harvard and a former European energy security adviser at the U.S. State Department, the pipeline, along with new terminals in Poland and Latvia to receive shipments of liquefied natural gas and new regulations to increase interdependency and reduce barriers, are all parts of Europe's larger strategy to loosen the energy monopoly once held by Russian state enterprises like Gazprom.
However, he continued, even the most resilient energy networks require security in order to operate. "Those are all essential elements for supply security and a healthy market, but without physical security and cybersecurity to support it, you'll have what are essentially statues," he said.
Along with the now burst Nord Stream lines, Baltic Pipe is the third significant gas pipeline flowing beneath the Baltic Sea. The Polish pipeline is a part of a vast network of pipelines that deliver Norwegian natural gas to Northern Europe over the North Sea and begins in the North Sea west of Denmark where it splits off from the Europipe II line.
The two Nord Stream pipelines, which were once intact, are now damaged, making it impossible for Russia to supply gas to Europe. Despite being partially stocked with gas, neither Nord Stream artery was delivering the fuel at the time of the attack because Germany had never permitted 2 to start up and Russia had shut off one.
NATO and other European nations have strengthened their patrols in the Baltic Sea in response to the alleged attacks on the pipelines. The Polish business that runs Baltic Pipe, Gaz-System, claimed that the undersea section of the new pipeline was being watched "on an ongoing basis by specialised operational services" in conjunction with Polish authorities. Gaz-System declined to provide more details.
In addition to the oil pipelines, thousands of kilometres of communication cables that have recently been laid over the ocean floors to connect a globalised globe are also vulnerable, according to experts. According to Johannes Peters, a specialist at the University of Kiel's Center for Maritime Strategy and Security, keeping it secure is practically impossible. He made this statement to the German news organisation RND.
You must assume that it is impossible to monitor the entire length of underwater infrastructure, according to Mr. Peters.
The timing of the alleged strikes, which exposed the vulnerability of essential infrastructure, was not coincidental, according to many analysts. On Tuesday, a few hours before Mr. Morawiecki and his Danish counterpart officially inaugurated Baltic Pipe, word surfaced that leaks had come to the surface. Mr. Schmitt pointed out that the new connection was crucial in ensuring energy independence in a region that had previously been under Moscow's authority.
Because Baltic Pipe is the first direct, significant pipeline route carrying non-Russian natural gas from the North Sea to the region, he claimed, "the Russians have long been incensed by Baltic Pipe."
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| In Houstrup Strand, Denmark, where Baltic Pipe arrives from the North Sea, a pier was built last year. To get to Poland, the pipeline travels through Denmark and the Baltic Sea. Credit... via Shutterstock, John Randeris/EPA |
Since the Nord Stream cables were alleged to have burst, energy companies in Norway and France have reported suspicious aerial drone operations around their offshore assets in the North Sea.
Ylva Johansson, the senior security official for the European Union, stated on German public television ZDF on Wednesday that the organisation had started requiring member states to provide more stringent protection for critical infrastructure several years ago. She stated that in light of the discoveries, it will think about requiring member states to adopt further security measures.
Denmark raised its energy infrastructure security to the second-highest alert level the day after the ruptures were found. Officials in Norway announced that it would expand its military patrols after drones were spotted flying over oil and gas infrastructure in the North Sea, possibly in breach of the safety zones above assets like offshore oil rigs or pipeline pressure stations.
The commander captain at the Norwegian Defense Operational Headquarters, Thomas Gjesdal, stated that the armed forces would boost their visibility and presence in the areas surrounding its oil and gas sites. This is true for forces' presence and patrols in the land, air, sea, underground, and cyberspace.
According to Cecilie Hellestveit, a specialist in international law at the Norwegian Academy of International Law, sabotage against energy infrastructure has been frequent in recent conflicts in the Middle East, notably Syria and Iraq.
The fact that this is taking place in Europe is novel, she said. We are not accustomed to this kind of threat, and it exposes us in unusual ways.
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