Why you can forget about Nord Streams

Alexey Gromov, Principal Director on Energy Studies of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented on the prospects for the Nord Streams restoration to the Vzglyad business newspaper.

“We see that the West is no longer allowing Russia to investigate the accident. Even the technical specialists of Gazprom are not allowed to the zone of explosions until an agreement is received from the Swedes and Danes,” Alexey Gromov says.

“The Danes will only consider it for almost a month. And this does not mean that they will give permission. If such bureaucratic delays accompany each stage of our work during the restoration of Nord Stream, then this will seriously delay the time for the repair. Since the accident on September 26, the process of corrosion and metal erosion has already begun. And every day the volume of damage will only increase, as well as the cost of repair work,” the expert says.

“This does not solve the problems with the launch of compressor stations that provide the functionality of Nord Stream 1. After all, Nord Stream 1 was stopped because no one gave Gazprom guarantees that maintenance, including the repair of German compressor equipment, would be removed from the regime of the Western sanctions. And no one will give guarantees that after the repair of Nord Stream 2, the European authorities will issue it with certification, which was previously denied. Therefore, to implement these projects in the current conditions is absolutely counterproductive. It's just money down the drain. Nord Stream 1 is more likely to die,” Gromov believes.

As for Nord Stream 2, it has one line left intact, and technically it can still carry gas to Germany. But this is unlikely to happen in practice. The new German authorities are doing everything to get rid of Russian gas, and they, in fact, have already achieved this. So why should Russia spend so much effort to be able to transport gas to Germany, which does not want this gas?