Suspected Pipeline Sabotage: Norway Strengthens Oil and Gas Security
Following the alleged sabotage of the gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea, police in west Norway have enhanced security measures and patrols at and around oil and gas infrastructure, a police spokesperson informed Norwegian daily Bergensavisen (BA).
“We have increased our focus on preventive patrolling at oil and gas installations in our area,” operations manager Helge Blindheim in the West police district told BA in Bergen, which is home to or close to many oil and gas installations. The West police district in Norway is closely following the situation, Blindheim told BA.
Norway, the biggest oil and gas producer in Western Europe, sent soldiers from its Home Guard to protect energy infrastructure after the Nord Stream incident last year. The soldiers were sent out after Norwegian police asked for help from the Army to stop events.
According to the Norwegian Army, one of the main responsibilities of the Home Guard is to secure and protect important civil and military infrastructure.
Norway has not yet taken similar steps in response to this weekend’s leak that shut down the offshore Balticconnector pipeline between Finland and Estonia due to probable mysterious origins.
The threat of sabotage on Europe’s crucial energy infrastructure has returned one year after the Nord Stream pipeline explosions.
The Finnish government noted recently that, “Based on information from the Finnish Border Guard, Gasgrid Finland has given its expert assessment according to which the damage was not caused by the normal gas transmission process.
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“It is likely that the damage to both the gas pipeline and the data cable is caused by external activity. What specifically caused the damage is not yet known,” Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The investigation continues in cooperation between Finland and Estonia, and NATO is ready to assist with it,” the president added.
After its neighbor to the east, Russia, invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Finland joined NATO earlier this year.
