HELSINKI (AP) – Finland and Estonia said yesterday that the undersea Balticconnector gas pipeline running between the two countries across the Baltic Sea has been temporarily taken out of service due to a suspected leak.
Gasgrid Finland and Elering, the Finnish and Estonian gas system operators, said they noted an unusual drop in pressure in the pipeline shortly before 2am yesterday, after which they shut down the gas flow.
“Based on observations, it was suspected that the offshore pipeline between Finland and Estonia was leaking,” Gasgrid Finland said in a statement. “The valves in the offshore pipeline are now closed and the leak is thus stopped.”
The Finnish operator gave no reason for the suspected leak and said it was investigating together with Elering.
Gasgrid Finland said the Finnish gas system is stable and the supply of gas has been secured through the Inkoo floating liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal, referring to the offshore support vessel Exemplar – a floating liquefied natural gas terminal at the southern Finnish port of Inkoo.
Elering said the accident did not affect the gas supply to Estonian consumers. After the shutdown of Balticconnector, gas for Estonian consumers was coming from Latvia, it said.
Before the closure, the pipeline operated by transferring gas from Finland to Estonia. Most of the gas that arrived from Finland was forwarded to Latvia, Elering said.
