Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea will be sealed and closed
Russia's ruptured undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines are set to be sealed up and mothballed as there are no immediate plans to repair or reactivate them, sources familiar with the plans have told Reuters.
Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, each consisting of two pipes, were built by Russia's state-controlled Gazprom to pump 110 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas a year to Germany under the Baltic Sea. But soaring tensions between Moscow and the West over Russia's invasion of Ukraine had by then already brought Nord Stream 1 to a standstill and prevented its twin, criticised by Washington and Kyiv for increasing Germany's dependence on Russia, ever coming online. Gazprom has said it is technically possible to repair the ruptured lines, but two sources familiar with plans said Moscow saw little prospect of relations with the West improving enough in the foreseeable future for the pipelines to be needed.
