Norwegian Shelf Facilities Safe Despite Nord Stream Pipeline Incident - Prime Minister

MURMANSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th September, 2022) The leaks that occurred at the Nord Stream pipelines do not threaten the safety of the Norwegian shelf facilities, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said on Wednesday.

"We pay a lot of attention to the safety of our (shelf) facilities. There are many of them, and we have a high level of safety, we monitor both air and water," the prime minister was quoted by Norwegian NRK broadcaster as saying.

The energy facilities on the shelf can be operated safely, Store said, adding that the incident has all the hallmarks of a deliberate sabotage.

According to the prime minister, Oslo is engaged in dialogue with NATO over the incident but has not yet asked for help in monitoring Norwegian facilities.

Earlier in the day, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said that she had conducted talks with her Swedish and Danish counterparts, Ann Linde and Jeppe Kofod, where the parties discussed the incident with the Nord Stream pipelines and agreed to cooperate on the matter.

On Monday, the pipelines' operator, Nord Stream AG told Sputnik that a dispatcher had registered a rapid drop in pressure in one of the segments of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The incident occurred in the Danish waters near the island of Bornholm. Later in the day, the operator said that pressure drop had also been registered on both strings of Nord Stream 1.

On Tuesday, gas pipeline operator Nord Stream AG said that it was impossible to estimate when the Nord Stream pipelines could resume their operation, but noted that all resources were mobilized to assess the damage.

The cause of the incidents remains unknown and an investigation is underway. Earlier in the day, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that the disruption was caused by detonations, which indicates that it was sabotage.