Sweden warns of two leaks on Nord Stream 1 pipeline

LONDON FRANKFURT Reuters- Sweden said on Tuesday it had issued a warning of two leaks on the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 project was discovered.

The largest single supply route for Russian gas to Europe, Nord Stream 1, has been idle since August due to a row over equipment at a key compressor station in Russia.

The importance of the pipeline in carrying Russian gas to Europe is further explained by the fact that it is important to have it in place.

The late return of equipment held up in Canada was attributed to the late return of equipment held up in Canada because of sanctions, even before the pipeline was stopped.

The 1,224 km long Nord Stream 1 consists of two parallel pipelines with a nameplate annual capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters bcm each, running from Vyborg, Russia to the exit point in Lubmin, Germany.

In Germany, the gas is received by the connecting pipelines OPAL Baltic Sea Pipeline Link and NEL North European Gas Pipeline, which link into the European grid.

The pipeline is owned by Gazprom and is the main route through which Russian gas flows to Germany.

Gazprom has a 51% stake in the company, with the rest held by four Western partners. PEGI E.ON and Wintershall Dea have 15.5% each, and French Engie and Dutch Gasunie hold 9% each.

The project partners injected 30% of their shareholding in equity and received 70% in bank and export credit agency loans.

The consortium of Nord Stream AG in Switzerland is the operating company for transit, technical, legal and environmental matters, but does not own the asset or gas in it.

Gazprom Export handles the shipments via contracts with European utilities and gas traders.

There are other major pipelines from Russia to Europe, but flows through these have gradually declined.

The Yamal-Europe pipeline, which has historically transported gas from Russia to Europe, has been moving east to Poland from Germany since the beginning of the year.

Supply through pipelines running from Russia to Europe via Ukraine have decreased after Ukraine stopped a gas transit route in May, blaming interference by Russian forces.

Austria's OMV, Italy's ENI, Germany's Uniper and RWE were among a number of European gas-buying companies with contracts with Gazprom that saw their supplies cut after Nord Stream shut.

Russia has already cut gas flows to Bulgaria, Finland, Poland, Denmark, Dutch firm Gasterra and Shell for its German contracts after they rejected a Kremlin demand to switch to payments in roubles.