The Danish Energy Agency has granted Nord Stream 2 AG - the operator of Nord Stream 2 - permission to carry out a number of activities to preserve the gas pipeline.
"On 28 January 2025, the Danish Energy Agency granted Nord Stream 2 AG permission to carry out certain activities at the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline facility in the Baltic Sea. Workers will maintain the damaged pipeline, install special plugs on each open end of the pipe to prevent gas escape and further seawater intrusion," the Danish Energy Agency said in a statement.
Nord Stream 2 AG expects to complete authorized repair works on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline within 2-3 weeks, which are expected to start in the next 2-3 months.
The Nord Stream 2 operator is required to submit a pipeline construction plan so that the Danish Energy Agency can closely monitor the repairs.
Nord Stream 2 AG must also provide information about the vessels that will be used and the companies that will carry out the operation.
According to the Danish regulator's explanation, Nord Stream 2 AG applied for an operating license as early as May 2024 for operations to be deployed in the third and fourth quarters of last year, but was postponed.
The service life of the special plugs installed in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is 10 years but could be longer depending on operating conditions.
The $11 billion gas pipeline to be completed by Nord Stream 2 AG in 2021 is designed to transport Russian gas to Germany.
However, Germany suspended the plan when relations with Russia deteriorated just before the conflict in Ukraine broke out. The US also imposed sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
In September 2022, one of the two branches of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea was sabotaged in a series of mysterious explosions, along with both branches of Nord Stream. To date, the culprit behind the Nord Stream sabotage has not been found.
According to the Danish Energy Agency, the damaged branch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline still has about 9-10 million cubic meters of gas, while the intact branch is still full of gas. Therefore, pipeline maintenance is necessary to minimize environmental risks and ensure safety.
In December 2024, the US imposed additional sanctions on the operator of Nord Stream 2 as well as other Russian companies, affirming that Nord Stream 2 is a geopolitical project of Russia and opposing any efforts to restore this gas pipeline.
Both the US and Ukraine, as well as Russia, have denied any involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline attack. Russia has accused the West of being behind the sabotage of Nord Stream, which has led to a sharp reduction in Russian gas supplies to the European market.
