Page 9 - FSUOGM Week 45 2022

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM

Nord Stream 1 operator permitted

to survey Danish leak sites

DENMARK THE Russian operator of the damaged Nord Initial data collected by the operator off Sweden’s
Stream 1 pipeline has been granted permis- coast discovered man-made craters with depths
Meanwhile, there is a sion to survey an area in Danish waters, the of 3–5 metres, at a distance of about 248 metres
report of ships in the Danish Geodata Agency told Reuters on from each other. Nord Stream AG said the sec-
area when the leaks November 10. tion of the pipeline between the craters had been
occurred with their The operator has already dispatched a ship destroyed, and the radius of pipe fragments dis-
trackers turned off. it has chartered to an area off Sweden’s coast to persion is at least 250 metres.
survey the ruptured parts of the pipeline, which Adding another picture to the puzzle,
had flowed gas from Russia to Germany under WIRED reported last week that analysis by sat-
the Baltic Sea. ellite data monitoring firm SpaceKnow showed
Investigators in Denmark and Sweden have that two “dark ships”, each measuring around
both concluded that the four leaks inflicted to the 95-130 metres long, passed within several km of
Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were the result of the Nord Stream 2 leak sites in the days imme-
explosions, but they have not said who might diately before the leaks were detected, with their
be responsible. The incidents have widely been trackers turned off.
blamed on sabotage. “We have detected some dark ships, meaning
While Western leaders have avoided pointing vessels that were of a significant size, that were
fingers so far, Moscow has accused the British passing through that area of interest,” Space-
Royal Navy of attacking the pipelines. Know CEO Jerry Javornicky told the news
According to Reuters, the application that agency. “They had their beacons off, meaning
was sent to the Danish Geodata Agency on there was no information about their movement,
October 13 was approved on November 1, ena- and they were trying to keep their location infor-
bling the Nord Stream AG company to survey mation and general information hidden from the
waters in Denmark’s exclusive economic zone. world.” ™

Renowned former petrochems

CEO Konov sells stake in Sibur

RUSSIA DMITRY Konov, the former CEO of Russian government” responsible for the war.
petrochemicals major Sibur, has told Interfax However, the EC still considers Konov to be
Konov has distanced that he no longer holds his 2.59% stake in the one of the "leading businessmen working in an
himself from the company. After a legendary 15-year tenure, industry generating significant revenues for the
Russian government Konov stepped down from his position as CEO Russian government”.
and its decision to in March 2022 following his inclusion on EU and Konov insists that he doesn’t fit the EU's defi-
invade Ukaine. UK sanctions lists. nition of a "businessperson", because he is not
The news that Konov has sold his stake in the founder, owner, or majority shareholder of
Sibur comes after he filed an appeal against Sibur.
European sanctions with the European Court of Instead, Konov is a career executive, who
Justice (ECJ). made a name for himself by pushing ESG stand-
In his recent exchange with Interfax, which ards and modern disclosure and management
took place on the sidelines of the ADIPEC con- practices – a relatively rare move among Russian
ference in Abu Dhabi, Konov said that the Euro- industrial companies. In 2021, Forbes named
pean Council had dropped two out of the three Sibur one of Russia’s 30 most eco-friendly
criteria which it had used to justify his inclusion companies.
on the sanctions list. Indeed, Konov’s time as CEO saw Sibur tran-
Konov claims that he is no longer seen as sition from a distressed post-Soviet asset with
someone "supporting persons responsible for $2.5bn of debt to a modern manufacturer with a
decisions" on the Ukraine war, nor as someone global reach. Sibur had a revenue of nearly $16bn
providing "material assistance to the Russian in 2021, up from just $3bn in 2004 before Konov

Week 45 14•November•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9