The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany in the Baltic Sea was attacked in September 2022. Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021, with a designed capacity of 55 billion m3 of gas/year. However, the pipeline is only for technical gas and has never been put into commercial operation to bring Russian gas to Germany.
On September 26, 2022, Nord Stream 2's branch A exploded in the Economic Zone (EEZ) of Denmark and Sweden in the Baltic Sea. Both branches of the Nord Stream pipeline were also ruptured in a series of explosions at the time.
Switzerland-based StreamTec Solutions has conducted technical research on the status and additional options for future use of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and released a report based on available public information.
The report said that the damage to Nord Stream 2 branch A was not as serious as initially predicted while branch B was intact and could be used without any repair.
Last month, Denmark granted Nord Stream 2 AG a license to maintain the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Branch A broke at two locations near Bornholm Island, about 80 km apart. The branch is currently partially flooded, but more than 90% of the pipeline is not yet flooded and is still filled with low-pressure gas, said Richard Taylor, director of offshore partnership and construction at StreamTec Solutions.
StreamTec Solutions added that the corrosion inside the flooded Nord Stream 2 pipeline was very small, posing no threat to the safety of the pipeline, mainly because the oxygen level in the Baltic Sea at this depth was very low and the water temperature was low enough to minimize bacterial corrosion.
According to Mr. Taylor, technically, repairing Nord Stream 2 branch A is feasible if necessary tools, equipment and expertise are available. In the case of reusing Nord Stream 2, the repair cost will be significantly lower than the construction of a new pipeline.
Regarding the possibility of using Nord Stream 2 in the future, a feasible option is to change the purpose of use to transport hydrogen for the pipeline and steel materials of the pipeline suitable for this purpose. The pipeline could also be reused to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) into Lubmin via an offshore gas recycling station or as a gas storage facility.
StreamTec Solutions was established from the Nord Stream project management team - a pipeline system parallel to Nord Stream 2 and completed in 2012. Seven founding partners of StreamTec Solutions later held similar positions in the Nord Stream 2 project.
The company's licensing, construction and materials experts have collaborated to report on the status of Nord Stream 2 to provide more detailed information to government and private organizations interested in learning about the potential for repairing and reusing the pipeline.
