Several European countries are sending help to safeguard Norway’s North Sea installations after the Nord Stream pipeline blasts, and the EU is planning to test the security of its energy infrastructure.
EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson told reporters on Friday that she will work with her home affairs counterpart, Ylva Johansson, to prepare a stress-test plan as more countries point fingers at Russia for sabotaging the pipelines.
“Given the possible serious impact of an incident on the internal market and across borders, an EU-wide approach is needed. We will work with member states to define the test scope and timing to reinforce the resilience of the EU energy system to threats,” Simson said. She said the bloc will consider new policy measures to protect critical infrastructure.
The pipeline attacks stoked fear that Russia may stage sneak attacks on vital energy pathways to spike prices in the stressed bloc as winter sets in.
“Everyone’s shocked by the sabotage of Nord Stream so it was very fruitful that colleagues from Denmark, Sweden and Germany informed us on the way that they’re doing research to know what happened over there,” Dutch energy minister Rob Jetten told reporters after a meeting in Brussels.
Norway has accepted offers of help from Germany, France and the UK as it steps up its presence at North Sea oil and gas installations, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters on Friday. It has redirected two coast guard vessels and a maritime surveillance aircraft to patrol the area, he said.
ConocoPhillips Skandinavia said on Friday that it elevated the “security level and emergency preparedness for our offshore and onshore facilities”.
“We confirm having made drone observations and we co-operate with the authorities,” the company said in a statement. It said it won’t disclose more details. TotalEnergies said it spotted a drone near a Danish North Sea oilfield.
Countries have been reluctant to blame Russia formally as investigations haven’t been possible with gas still spewing from ruptures, but Germany made it clear that Moscow is the obvious suspect.
“Russia saying ‘it wasn’t us’ is like saying ‘I’m not the thief,’” German Economy Minister Robert Habeck told reporters on Friday in Brussels. Russia has denied responsibility and President Vladimir Putin on Friday blamed “Anglo-Saxons” for the blasts, without providing any evidence.
The Danish Energy Agency said in a tweet that the company behind the Nord Stream pipelines has told it that Nord Stream 2 will stop leaking gas on Saturday while the Nord Stream 1 pipe will run out the next day.
Bloomberg
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