"Based on preliminary expert assessments, it can be assumed that the planning of the repair work, the mobilization of the necessary underwater equipment and the actual repair measures, including the inspection of the repaired pipe section and commissioning, will last at least five months. Therefore, the earliest possible commissioning date of the Balticconnector — pipeline would be at the beginning of April 2024," the operator's statement read.
It added that the Finnish gas system remained stable and that the supply from the LNG terminal near the Finnish city of Inga had been secured. The terminal's capacity should be sufficient to meet demand even in the coming winter, when gas consumption is usually higher, the operator said.
On Tuesday, NORSAR, an independent seismic monitoring organization, stated that it had recorded what appeared to be an explosion at the pipeline. The suspected explosion was measured at 1.0 on the Richter scale, which NORSAR said was much smaller than the explosion at Russia's Nord Stream pipeline in September 2022.
Balticconnector was shut down early on October 8 after a sudden drop in pressure raised concerns that gas was leaking from the 48-mile undersea pipeline, which has an annual capacity of up to 2.6 billion cubic meters. Pipeline operator Gasgrid Finland said the pipeline appeared to have been damaged.
Balticconnector is a gas pipeline connecting the Finnish city of Inga and Estonia's Paldiski. The pipeline gives Finland access to Latvia's Incukalns underground gas storage facility.