Three leaks detected on Nord Stream, Nord Stream 2 pipelines: DEA

A total of three leaks have been detected on the parallel Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline systems from Russia to Germany, the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) said Sept. 27.

A sharp drop in pressure was noted late Sept. 26 on both two-string pipelines -- neither of which were flowing gas to Europe.

Nonetheless, the DEA said that breaches of such pipelines were "extremely rare", prompting the agency to raise Denmark's level of energy preparedness.

Nord Stream was halted on Aug. 31 and has not resumed flow due to what Russia's Gazprom has described as maintenance issues on turbines at the Portovaya compressor station.

Nord Stream 2 never started commercial operations despite construction work on the two-string 55 Bcm/year pipeline being completed in September last year and the lines then being filled with some 350 million cu m of gas in late December.

The rarity of such breaches has led to reports that the pipelines could have been targeted deliberately.

The leaks on Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 also come just days before the new Baltic Pipe from Norway to Poland via Denmark is due to begin operations, with an opening ceremony set to take place on Sept. 27.

The Baltic Pipe crosses both the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.

Despite the fact that neither Nord Stream nor Nord Stream 2 are flowing gas to Europe, gas prices rose in early trade Sept. 27, with the TTF month-ahead price up 6% at Eur185/MWh by 0900 GMT.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the TTF month-ahead contract on Sept. 26 at Eur172.75/MWh.

Danish concerns

The DEA said there were two leaks on Nord Stream -- one in the Danish economic zone and the other in the Swedish economic zone. The leaks were detected shortly after a leak was detected on Nord Stream 2 on Sept. 26.

"Breaches of gas pipelines happen extremely rarely, and therefore we see reason to raise the level of preparedness as a result of the incidents we have seen over the past 24 hours," the DEA said.

"Based on the incidents, the Danish Energy Agency has recommended [grid operator] Energinet to raise the sector preparedness level in both the electricity and gas sectors."

The increased preparedness level means that concrete measures can now be implemented in order to increase safety at buildings and other installations.

The DEA stressed that none of the incidents had an impact on the supply of gas to Europe and Denmark, as none of the pipelines were in operation.

Nonetheless, the Danish Maritime Authority has issued a navigation warning and established a prohibition area in order for ships not to enter the prohibition zones.

Ships could "lose buoyancy" if they entered the area and there was a risk of ignition over the water and in the air, the DEA said.

Nord Stream work

In a statement late Sept. 26, the operator of Nord Stream -- Nord Stream AG -- said only that the dispatchers of the Nord Stream control center had registered a pressure drop on both strings of the gas pipeline.

"The reasons are being investigated," it said.

In a market update Sept. 27, Nord Stream AG noted that the pipeline had been isolated upstream and downstream due to the pressure drop.

It flagged an expected end to the event on Oct. 26, one month after it started.