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Damage to the Nord Stream pipelines appears to be deliberate, according to a Chinese envoy to the UN. Photo: Danish Defence/ AFP

China calls for inquiry into Nord Stream gas pipeline leaks

  • Damage to infrastructure appears deliberate and will affect consumers around the world, envoy to United Nations says
  • Beijing abstains from UN vote to condemn Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory
Ukraine war
China has called for an investigation into the Nord Stream gas leaks amid suspicions of sabotage.

Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, said on Friday that intelligence indicated the damage to the two major Russian gas pipelines to Europe was most likely deliberate.

“If true, it would constitute an attack on multinational civilian facilities and undersea pipelines in violation of international law,” Geng said in a speech to the UN Security Council.

“The leak highlights the fragility of cross-border infrastructure. We are willing to work with all parties to maintain their security.”

He said consumers around the world, including in developing countries, were likely to suffer in the resulting energy market turmoil.

01:03

Swedish Coast Guard releases new video from Nord Stream gas leak

Swedish Coast Guard releases new video from Nord Stream gas leak
Also on Friday, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning its annexations of Ukrainian territory. Ten of the 15 council members supported the draft co-sponsored by the US and Albania, while Brazil, China, Gabon and India abstained.

The draft described the so-called referendums held by Russia in the four regions of Ukraine which Moscow now regards as sovereign territory as illegal and an attempt to modify Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders, according to UN News.

Beijing’s UN ambassador, Zhang Jun, said the top priority was to ease the situation and guide the countries to resume diplomatic negotiations to reach a ceasefire.

“China calls on all parties concerned to exercise restraint, refrain from taking actions that would exacerbate tensions and leave room for diplomatic negotiations to reach solutions,” he said, according to a statement from the Chinese mission.

UN: Nord Stream rupture may be biggest methane release

A number of leaks were detected this week in both natural gas pipelines that run from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea. It was not clear who or what caused the damage to multibillion-dollar infrastructure.

A number of European governments have said the leaks were a result of deliberate sabotage but not named those they think are responsible.

Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian ambassador to the UN, told the Security Council that the US had much to gain in the gas market from damage to the pipeline system, but stopped short of blaming Washington for the damage.

The White House dismissed the suggestion.

Richard Mills, the US deputy representative to the United Nations, said the US had boosted LNG exports in recent years because Russia had long been an unreliable supplier of energy to Europe. In the past Moscow has cut off gas supplies to eastern Europe in winter during gas pricing disputes.

The two 1,200km (745-mile) offshore pipelines are direct connections between gas reserves in Russia and energy markets in the European Union, transporting a combined total of 55 billion cubic metres of gas per year, according to the operator, Nord Stream.

Neither was supplying gas when the leaks occurred. Russia shut down Nord Stream 1 in August, while Nord Stream 2 never came on stream as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

Professor of atmospheric physics Grant Allen at the University of Manchester told the Science Media Centre in Britain that an estimated 177 million cubic metres of natural gas was “residual” in Nord Stream 2.

“This amount of gas is equivalent to the natural gas used by 124,000 UK homes in a year. This is not a small amount of gas, and represents a reckless emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” he said.

01:18

Russia-Europe gas pipeline temporarily closed for maintenance amid EU fuel shortage

Russia-Europe gas pipeline temporarily closed for maintenance amid EU fuel shortage

The war in Ukraine has already had a major impact on the global energy market – particularly in Europe, which has been scrambling to find alternative supplies due to its previous dependence on Russia.

Sinopec, the Chinese state-owned oil and gas company, alone resold 3.15 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to Europe this year, Nikkei Asia reported, citing Chinese media reports.

Chinese observers have said the country is less likely to be affected than Europe because China’s natural gas contracts are usually long term, lasting one or two decades, meaning price fluctuations at a specific moment have no major impact on the ongoing contracts.

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