The first step will be figuring out the extent of the damage and then the difficulties really begin:
Until Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines were a key part of Europe's energy infrastructure. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the Nord Stream lines supplied 18% of all Europe's gas imports. [...]
Since then, Nord Stream has become a geopolitical pawn as Russia has retaliated for economic sanctions imposed upon it after the invasion. [...]
Then, in late September, unexpected damage caused four leaks in the subsea pipeline system. Everyone except Russia believes it's sabotage by the pariah state as it attempts to squeeze supplies ahead of a tricky winter energy shortage in Europe, where countries are already planning to cut back on energy use.
[...] What we do know is that any mission will be an unprecedented challenge for the oil and gas sector, requiring complex robotics and imaginative engineering.
And while we don't even know for sure how bad the situation is, the damage is expected to be significant: the September 26 blasts believed to have caused the pipeline ruptures registered 2.2 on the Richter scale, according to the Swedish National Seismic Network. [...]
No matter who did it, it was deliberate, says van der Beukel. "These pipelines normally simply don't break down," he says. The steel Nord Stream pipes are 1.6 inches thick, with up to another 4.3 inches of concrete wrapped around them. Each of the 100,000 or so sections of the pipeline weighs 24 metric tons.
The repairs themselves would not be easy. There are a number of options, says Ribet. The first is to replace the damaged sections of the pipe in their totality—though that's the costliest. "You need the same diameter, the same kind of steel grade, and so on," he says. And you need to bring shipborne cranes that are strong enough to lift the heavy pipe segments out of the water.
The second repair option would be to install a clamp that covers the damaged sections of the pipe, essentially patching the ruptured areas. However, with an internal diameter of 1.153 meters, the Nord Stream pipelines would require huge clamps, as well as the temporary installation of an underwater caisson, a watertight chamber that would encase the section of pipeline so that engineers could work within it.
Marin believes this would be "the easiest solution." However, he adds, it would take months to procure a clamp big enough to encase the pipeline. This method also won't work if there turns out to be extensive damage, because it's not feasible to build clamps big enough to cover significant holes. A third option is a composite repair that mixes the two methods: replace the worst-damaged elements of the pipeline, and clamp those that are less affected.
Ribet suggests one potentially less likely fourth option: building and installing a new pipeline section that could bypass the damaged sections, which would be left in place. Russian analysts also note that one of Nord Stream's four individual pipelines appears not to have been affected, meaning it could continue to deliver gas, albeit at a lower rate.
[...] Asked if he can think if we've ever seen a subsea problem on this scale before, van den Beukel has a simple answer: "No. When you talk sabotage, it's usually onshore and on a much smaller scale," he says. "I can't think of anything similar to this—ever."
(Score: 4, Redundant) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 07 2022, @01:41AM (12 children)
If the damage is intentional, the damage can be inflicted again, after repairs. What would be the point of doing all this work, only to have it destroyed again just months after the job was completed?
Before anyone begins any work at all it is necessary to establish that everyone actually wants the pipe operational. It only takes one disagreeing party to ensure that it never operates again.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Friday October 07 2022, @02:12AM (2 children)
Depends on whether they try to do it again. The goals of the sabotage may already be completely achieved.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2022, @02:30PM (1 child)
You could always ask Joe Burden if he's going to blow it up again.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday October 07 2022, @03:31PM
Even if he did, restoring full operation of those pipelines will take years. The war will either be over or Germany will be more fully committed to it. That's all the goals that a US (or other allied) actor would need.
(Score: 3, Redundant) by legont on Friday October 07 2022, @02:16AM (3 children)
Well, Russia has already offered to send gas through the one surviving nord stream 2 pipe. No reply.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 3, Touché) by khallow on Friday October 07 2022, @04:03AM (2 children)
Should that have turned out differently? You might recall that Russia has done some bad things in recent months.
(Score: 2) by cykros on Wednesday October 12 2022, @01:22AM (1 child)
Nice of them to offer to let Germany survive the winter despite the less than friendly things they've done in cooperation with the rest of NATO in defending a state largely propped up by western (American, in large part) covert ops. You could call that conspiracy theory, or perhaps you could just go ahead and read this undenied leaked phone conversation from back in 2014 when it was being carried out: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957 [bbc.com]
On the bright side, they learned their lesson after the failed Bay of Pigs and seem to have gotten a knack for actually doing these sorts of things successfully now. Can't say the CIA doesn't learn from its mistakes.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday October 12 2022, @04:18AM
Germany has other sources for its natural gas plus partial stores. I don't believe survival will be a problem. And those Ukrainians fight awful hard for a American covert ops. Maybe you're reading the wrong script? Maybe the Ruskies are the ones running an American covert ops? They sure fight like it.
A US diplomat made some phone calls in 2014, hence it's an American covert ops? I wonder if they can make some phone calls and knock over this shitty Russian government while they're at it?
This is what segues into conspiracy theory fantasyland. We have two blazingly obvious counterexamples: Afghanistan and Iraq. The former speaks for itself. The latest for IRaq is that it is currently getting attacked (small scale) by both Iran and Turkey. WTH?
So anyway, the US was awesome in its nefarious takeover of the Ukraine unlike most such activities of the past twenty years. Or maybe it was just a bit player who helped a good cause a little and that's why Ukraine isn't stuck with fail cooties in this war?
Ever consider that maybe Ukraine is the real deal? Or does the narrative preclude that possibility?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2022, @02:45AM (2 children)
And how do you propose we are gonna do this, Sherlock, use the truth serum t? Give them blackjack and hookers and blackmail them after (where do I sign to be convinced)?
And what do you mean by "everyone"?
Are you sure the cost of "establishing everyone wants" and the cost of lost opportunity until the "establishing" is complete are not going to be much higher than actually rebuilding the pipe entirely and install defensive counter-measures managed by SkyNet, sometime end of next century?
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2022, @05:32AM (1 child)
Get the culprit on board with repairing the pipeline and resuming operations. Anybody have Joe Biden's phone number?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 09 2022, @09:40AM
I talk to the Martians too.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by driverless on Friday October 07 2022, @07:49AM
It's not even that, given that Europe is desperately trying to wean itself off dependence on Russian gas, why would they then go back and re-enable the dependence? In particular Nord Stream 2 was never commissioned, why should they now spend billions(?) of dollars restoring something that was never utilised in the first place?
(Score: 2) by cykros on Wednesday October 12 2022, @01:18AM
The pipe that the US constantly told Germany not to be contracting with Russia to build in the first place? That pipe? I'm sure everyone agrees that it should be operational. Especially those forces within NATO who worry that the German people might look after their own self-preservation rather than cling to ill advised sanctions.
TFS is really reaching there with "everyone believes except Russia"... 10,000 repetitions = 1 Truth though, or so Huxley would advise.
(Score: 5, Informative) by looorg on Friday October 07 2022, @01:46AM (4 children)
The article was a few days old so the investigative dives are already concluded. "The Swedish Security Service’s crime scene investigation of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines has now been completed. The investigation has strengthened the suspicions of gross sabotage."
https://sakerhetspolisen.se/ovriga-sidor/other-languages/english-engelska/press-room/news/news/2022-10-06-strengthened-suspicions-of-gross-sabotage-in-baltic-sea.html [sakerhetspolisen.se]
Sabotage but no finger pointing or conclusions as of yet.
While various repair options are nice to have which are viable once remains to be seen. Also how damaged are the pipes internally from all the sea water that have gone into the pipe. Then of cause is there a point to repairing if nobody is going to buy (or can) russian gas. How long would it take to repair, the countries in questions was not super keen when it was built, they'll probably be even less so when it comes time to repair it.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by legont on Friday October 07 2022, @02:07AM (3 children)
Once the sea water is inside the pipe, it may be not repairable.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2022, @03:14AM
Interesting question about sea water damaging the pipeline. This link shows the pipe sections stored in advance of the pipe laying, https://www.politico.eu/article/sanctioned-russian-ship-resumes-nord-stream-2-construction/ [politico.eu] and this describes the process with a little detail, https://www.nord-stream.com/the-project/construction/ [nord-stream.com]
From the second link:
It doesn't specify if the water used for pressure testing was sea water or fresh water.
Also, it doesn't say how the water was removed. While gas pressure (nitrogen) could push out enough water to allow gas to flow from one end to the other, it seems like a lot of water would still be sitting in the low spots, with clearance above the water level for the gas to flow through. Any ideas on how this is done?
Since the original pipeline included some underwater welding to connect the three original sections together, it seems possible to splice in new sections of pipe to repair the "sabotage".
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 07 2022, @11:34AM (1 child)
I read that in a couple of places. "May not be repairable" and "special coating". But, I've seen no details about any "special coating" or anything. I kinda think that is just FUDD. As AC points out in his post, the sections are flooded with some kind of water during construction anyway. Was that all fresh water, or seawater? Or, some specially prepared water with special properties? Kool-Aid, maybe?
Some kind of citation(s) about "may not be repairable" would be helpful, if you have such.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by legont on Saturday October 08 2022, @10:42PM
Yeah, I agree with you, the whole technology part is murky at the moment.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by MIRV888 on Friday October 07 2022, @02:43AM (8 children)
Everyone knows who did this and why. The question is what is NATO going to do about it. This kind of infrastructure cannot really be protected. Destroying primary infrastructure of another nation is an act of war IMHO.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2022, @02:54AM
What, do you think anyone in NATO is gonna do anything against America [foxnews.com]?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by khallow on Friday October 07 2022, @04:26AM
I can come up [soylentnews.org] with a list of suspects longer than one. I can also come up with a very large list of people who don't know who did this or why.
And there seems to be a peculiar lack of evidence at present to narrow either list down.
(Score: 2, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2022, @05:09AM
I think NATO will be reluctant to attack the United States.
(Score: 1, Troll) by driverless on Friday October 07 2022, @07:53AM (1 child)
It was done outside Denmark's territorial waters but inside Sweden's which isn't a NATO member yet (Hungary and Turkey are still holding out ratifying). So it was very carefully set up to not be an attack on a NATO member.
All of which adds to the weight of evidence for whodunnit.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2022, @01:56PM
Only if you assume that they are stupider than you. If you can see the reasons for attacking at any particular point so can any other actor who wants to damage the pipeline and deflect the blame.
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 07 2022, @11:38AM
Well, who exactly did it? The list of suspects include just about every fossil fuel producer in the world, as well as just about every fossil fuel consumer. Add in environmentalists, and just plain old terrorists.
Notice that there were 4 sites damaged. I suspect MIRV888 was in on it. Did your little brother MIRV444 perform the deed?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by JustNiz on Friday October 07 2022, @02:12PM
> Everyone knows who did this and why
Not at all. Please think for yourself instead of jumping on the media bullshit bandwagon.
For example: Ukraine have been begging the EU to stop buying Russian energy since the war began, because the EU gas payment alone was large enough to keep Russia fighting, but the EU most notably Germany just keeps buying it.
...or maybe it could be the act of another country driving the EU to buy gas from them instead of Russia.
... or a million other possibilities
(Score: 2) by cykros on Wednesday October 12 2022, @01:26AM
If Russia did blow up their own pipe, I'm not sure how that would constitute destroying primary infrastructure of another nation. Gazprom owns it. As for why anyone actually believes they blew up their own pipe rather than simply turn off the taps at the source is beyond me. 9/11 Truthers got branded as nuts, but suddenly this false flag theory holds water because of MSM endorsement.
(Score: 3, Funny) by isostatic on Friday October 07 2022, @10:37AM
That's a lot of words to say "Duck tape"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JustNiz on Friday October 07 2022, @02:02PM (15 children)
Just because something is broken doesn't automatically mean we should fix it.
I propose the EU finally being forced to get off their Russian energy addiction is a good thing for everyone (except Russia, obvs).
(Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Friday October 07 2022, @02:22PM (6 children)
Well, you could also say it's at least bad in the short term for those in the EU that don't have enough power to get them through the coming Winter.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2, Touché) by HammeredGlass on Friday October 07 2022, @03:16PM
they voted for this
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by RedGreen on Friday October 07 2022, @04:48PM (4 children)
"Well, you could also say it's at least bad in the short term for those in the EU that don't have enough power to get them through the coming Winter."
They have enough to make it through the winter do not believe that bullshit. What they do not have is enough to keep everything running as it normally does and for as cheap as it used to be done. If they truly did not have enough power the Germans would keep the nuclear reactors going to supply themselves with power but no they are still planing on shutting them down and keeping the coal plants running. Like the proud eco warriors they are having already shut some down to run coal instead in their place, meanwhile telling everyone else how to live, the lying sacks of shit. They were warned for decades about the Russian and still kept going headlong into the trap that was being laid for them because they knew better don't you know, those Russians have always been such kind loving people willing to help their fellow man...
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 4, Interesting) by maxwell demon on Saturday October 08 2022, @08:40AM (3 children)
You might not be aware of it, but producing electricity is not the only thing gas is used for, and even where it is possible, replacing gas with electricity isn't possible overnight.
And two of the three remaining nuclear plants are not shut off, as originally planned, but left in reserve, which given that the green party is in the government, means a lot.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by RedGreen on Saturday October 08 2022, @02:29PM (2 children)
"And two of the three remaining nuclear plants are not shut off, as originally planned, but left in reserve, which given that the green party is in the government, means a lot."
This is a supposed emergency situation. If you have read anything about this you would know they are only keeping them in reserve until the spring then they get shutdown, a few month extension, the others that have already have been shutdown down they were replaced with natural gas and keeping coal plants going. For an emergency you would think emergency measures would apply. I do not read anywhere that people should work from home as much as possible as was done during the pandemic BS they forced people to do. Nor do I read much about anything else urgent being done to change behaviours, only some plans to have some restrictions or rationing possible be in effect. If the government has the balls to do it and can get the corporate parasites on their side to get that done. The same assholes who sucked on the tit of the cheap Russian energy that was/is destroying the planet despite the clear warning signs of the Russian way of doing things. The constant undermining of governments and seizing of territory of the countries that surrounded them carrying on the polices of cultural genocide. The let us replace the local populations with Russians diluting their share of it with our numbers so we can claim it to be Russian the Soviets did and Putin now uses as the excuse for invasions. I could go for hours on that, then all the same NIMBY bull shit as seen around here when it comes to having measures in place to go renewable.
Like the fucking morons that live around here when we built the wind farm outside our town. This was first proposed when I was child in the 1970s during the oil shock the murdering Arab bastards foisted upon the world, like they do again in concert with the murdering Russian cunts today, when they could not complete Hitlers plan of killing off all the Jews as they kicked their ass then and every time they have tried since. It got built more than decade ago and it is nothing but constant whining since. All the oh the low frequency sound BS or the best one of their lies about it the light flicker of the sun they go on about despite it being physically impossible for it to happen due to the sun being in the opposite direction of the whining cock suckers location. While not a word is said about the tens of thousands of transport truck that pass them every day on the four lane highway that is located between them and the wind farm. Actual noise that can be heard by me even as I am roughly located the same distance from both places in the opposite direction where it is possible to get the light flicker and be subject to any noise from it as well including hearing them trucks on that highway and wind farm turbines. I have noticed no such problems with my health they claim to have. All that is there too along with the oh let us get it done in thirty or forty years down the line, kicking the problem to other generations, instead of all of this being treated as a REAL emergency and getting it done now while we still have hope in hell of making the planet a better place to live.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Monday October 10 2022, @05:31AM (1 child)
I do know that. I live in Germany, so you may safely assume that I'm well informed about what happens here.
What you don't seem to be well-informed about is the green party in Germany. Else you would know how hard even that step was for them.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by RedGreen on Monday October 10 2022, @06:22PM
"What you don't seem to be well-informed about is the green party in Germany. Else you would know how hard even that step was for them."
I am informed enough about them to know they are the same type of moron that is here in that party. Never have met an ECO lie they would not buy into, uncompromising on their supposed principals once adopted no matter the costs to people. The same fools who were just in my country going with the "green" hydrogen garbage putting up windmills to produce hydrogen for them fools in your country who have bought into it lock, stock and wasted resources again. Nothing green about it when you are taking new resources produced to waste the energy to do it. Now producing hydrogen from already existing items that feed your grid when there its time of lesser demand that is an idea rather than them being wasted by shedding the load. That is useful use of a resource that would be wasted, not the green washing BS of purpose built. You are better off getting your "green" hydrogen from existing natural gas supplies that are to be let go into the atmosphere burning some to get the power to process the rest taking the hydrogen out of it plus getting all the extra like the sulfur that is an important chemical that can be used. But that makes to much sense for them type of idiots to even think about adopting..
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday October 08 2022, @02:29AM (4 children)
Considering China is eager to buy Russia's natural gas, I doubt Russia will suffer much. They already shrugged and sent their oil that way.
However, it does throw another handful of sand into the motivations generator.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Saturday October 08 2022, @08:46AM (3 children)
Russia doesn't have the pipeline capacity towards China, so in the long run Russia possibly will suffer. Of course in the short run Russia will not suffer since there already was no gas being delivered through those pipes at that time.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday October 08 2022, @01:58PM (2 children)
...doesn't have pipeline capacity toward China... YET.
The rest of the world is not static.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Monday October 10 2022, @05:36AM (1 child)
A pipeline takes time to build. Even more time when you're under sanctions for essential parts of that pipeline.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Monday October 10 2022, @06:38AM
The pipelines already exist, for the most part.
https://www.theodora.com/pipelines/east_asia_oil_gas_products_pipelines_map.html [theodora.com]
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Sunday October 09 2022, @09:44AM
Germany made a huge mistake bowing to pressure from the Green lobby and closing all of their nuclear power plants.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by cykros on Wednesday October 12 2022, @02:31AM (1 child)
And the Germans who risk freezing to death. But hey, NATO's whole purpose has always been to keep Germany down and Russia out, and it's holding true to this purpose swimmingly these days.
(Score: 2) by JustNiz on Wednesday October 19 2022, @10:59PM
risk freezing to death? really? At the very worst, they just can't use their gas heating so they go to the German equivalent of Walmart and buy a few electric heaters instead.