The Danish Energy Agency said that 778 million cubic meters of natural gas could escape from leaks on three Nord Stream pipelines that run under the Baltic Sea, according to an initial estimate based on the worst-case scenario.
That amounts to the greenhouse-gas equivalent of about 14.6 million tons of carbon dioxide, or about 2% of all U.S. methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure, agriculture, waste, and mining activities in 2020, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That would also equate to about 32% of Denmark’s total annual emissions, based on 2020 figures, the Danish agency said.
European authorities are investigating gas leaks on the two Nord Stream pipelines after pressure dropped suddenly on Monday
Leak areas
Gulf of Bothnia
St. Petersburg
NORD STREAM 1
NORD STREAM 2
Baltic Sea
Copenhagen
Greifswald
Leak areas
NORD STREAM 1
NORD STREAM 2
Baltic Sea
Greifswald
Leak areas
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Danish and Swedish authorities reported the leaks this week. They have created large circles of bubbling water just above the ruptures on the pipelines, which rest on the seabed. Denmark and Sweden say they are investigating the cause of the leaks, but several Western officials have cited sabotage. Some are blaming Russia. Moscow has also called the leaks sabotage but has denied any role.
Leaks on two Russian natural-gas pipelines
European authorities are investigating gas leaks on the two Nord Stream pipelines after pressure dropped suddenly on Monday.
Concrete weight coating: 2.4 to 3.9 inches
Nord Stream pipe
Pipe steel
1.1 to 1.6 inches
Antifriction coating
Corrosion protection: 0.16 inches
Leaks on two Russian natural-gas pipelines
European authorities are investigating gas leaks on the two Nord Stream pipelines after pressure dropped suddenly on Monday.
Concrete weight coating:
2.4 to 3.9 inches
Pipe steel
1.1 to 1.6 inches
Nord Stream pipe
Antifriction
coating
Corrosion
protection: 0.16 inches
Leaks on two Russian natural-gas pipelines
European authorities are investigating gas leaks on the two Nord Stream pipelines after pressure dropped suddenly on Monday.
Concrete weight coating:
2.4 to 3.9 inches
Pipe steel
1.1 to 1.6 inches
Nord Stream pipe
Antifriction
coating
Corrosion protection:
0.16 inches
Sweden and Denmark, in a letter Thursday to the United Nations Security Council, said the leaks had caused plumes of gas rising from the pipeline to the surface, with the largest of the four measuring almost 2,000 yards across.
The letter said “the climate effect would likely be very substantial due to the significant volumes of green-house gases that are being released into the air.” The two governments also said they were concerned the gas release could have an impact on maritime life in the Baltic Sea. It said the operator of one of the damaged pipelines, Nord Stream 1, said that line could be releasing gas until Sunday. It said it hadn’t received an assessment from the Nord Stream 2 operator, a Swiss subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom.
“It’s definitely not good,” said Dr. Amy Townsend-Small, professor of environmental science at the University of Cincinnati. “Methane is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential much higher than carbon dioxide, so it heats up the Earth really fast right after it is released. It’s really wasteful.”
Some of that escaping natural gas, which contains methane, will probably be absorbed by the ocean before reaching the surface, according to Dr. Zitely Tzompa-Sosa, technical advocate for the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit environmental group based in Boston.
“We are talking about a lot,” Dr. Tzompa-Sosa. Due to the pressure in the pipeline, most of the gas likely escaped a few hours after leaks first opened, she said. Satellites that can measure methane emissions from space have been blocked by clouds or stymied by reflecting sunlight off the ocean surface, said Dr. Tzompa-Sosa, making it more difficult to assess the size of the release.
Satellite images indicate the scale of methane emissions from the gas leaks at a Nord Stream pipeline.
Photo: UNEP IMEO/ POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF VALENCIA
The letter provided new details about what Denmark and Sweden believed happened, based on their investigations so far. They said they believe at least two detonations occurred underwater, damaging the lines and causing the leaks. The magnitude of the explosions measured between 2.1 and 2.3 on the Richter scale, which the letter said was “probably corresponding to an explosive load of several hundred kilos.” The leaks were discovered Monday at 2:03 a.m. and 7:03 p.m. local time. Echoing other Western officials this week, the letter said “all available information indicates that those explosions are the result of a deliberate act.”
Write to Eric Niiler at eric.niiler@wsj.com and Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@wsj.com
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