A leak in the BalticConnector pipeline, which transits natural gas between Finland and Estonia is now suspected to be an act of sabotage by Finnish authorities. The leak, which shut down the pipeline on Sunday, could have only been caused by a hole in the piping, which is unlikely to have occurred as a result of wear and tear, as the line has been operational for less than four years. It will take several months to repair the line, and could inspire greater concerns regarding further pipeline disruptions in Northern Europe.
Finland, which will now rely more heavily on LNG shipments, may find it harder to source liquefied product, considering two Australian LNG platforms are resuming a strike that began in September and gas output from Israel is being strangled by renewed attacks on the nation from Hamas. Much of Israel’s gas goes to Egypt, where it is shipped to international markets, including Europe, as LNG.
Related ETFs: United States Natural Gas Fund, LP (UNG), Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE)
A leak in the BalticConnector natural gas pipeline, which spans about 77km, crossing the Gulf of Finland between Finland and Estonia, is now being investigated as an act of sabotage. An irregular drop in pressure was discovered on Sunday, which led to the assumption that a leak had occurred. A subsequent shutdown of gas flow in the pipe followed. Though there was no initial indication that an explosion or some other seismic external force had caused the leak, as was the case with the Nord Stream pipelines that were sabotaged in 2022, this leak “does not appear to be an accident“. That is according to sources cited by Finland’s national public broadcasting company, YLE, which further reports that Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it would make an announcement about the case on Tuesday, but suddenly cancelled the event without explanation.
Further reporting from Bloomberg seemed to confirm YLE’s story, stating that the ongoing probe into the leak is “proceeding on the assumption that it was a deliberate act of destruction”. Commissioned in 2019, the BalticConnector has served as the only gas import channel to Finland, apart from LNG, since Russian imports were halted in May 2022. Around that time, Russia had…
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