The US has said it appears Russia is to blame for this week’s leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said an investigation into the cause of what she called “an act of sabotage” was being conducted.
“It is highly unlikely that these incidents are coincidental,” she said, without offering any evidence to support the claim.
Russia has dismissed suggestions it was to blame.
It said suggestions it damaged the pipelines were “stupid and absurd”.
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President Putin described the damage during a phone call with Turkish President Erdogan as “unprecedented sabotage, in fact an act of international terrorism,” according to the Kremlin, adding that Russia plans to take it to the “urgent discussion” at the UN Security Council .
Earlier, Russia’s foreign ministry suggested that the US would benefit if the pipeline was down because it would be able to boost its own natural gas sales.
The White House has rejected such proposals.
“It’s probably some kind of sabotage,” says Mike Fulwood of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
“If there was an incident of a pipeline rupture or leak, accidental damage could be a possibility, that’s very rare.
“The most likely cause of accidental damage is an anchor being dropped and dragged across the pipeline.”
He added that with multiple leaks in a short space of time, “it doesn’t sound like it could be coincidental, although theoretically it could be.”
The high water pressure on the sea floor makes a detonation more difficult, according to power engineering expert Professor Russell Johns of Penn State University.
He says: “It is unlikely that the Russians ignited their own pipeline. They could have just “shut off the gas to the entrance of the pipeline” if they wanted to stop supplies.
The money Russia continues to receive for its fossil fuels helps fund its invasion of Ukraine.
The gas leaking from the pipeline near the Danish island of Bornholm has been in the pipeline since early September, when Moscow shut it down and said repairs were needed to a vital artery to Europe’s energy needs.
Ms Granholm suggested that energy relations between Russia and Europe would be a thing of the past.
“I think Russia has proven to be an unreliable energy partner,” she said.
“No country wants to take the risk of putting a significant part of its energy needs into supplying Russia. I think this accelerates the EU push to become energy independent through clean energy.”
The war in Ukraine has had a profound impact on rising global energy prices. They have been the main contributors to rising inflation in the UK, eurozone and US, which threatens to dampen global economic growth.
The rising cost of living has prompted political leaders around the world to reassess where they get their energy from, said Ms Granholm, speaking at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s ministerial conference in Vienna.
“Each country is looking at the risks associated with putting too many eggs in one basket, or putting too many eggs in the basket of petro-dictators, and the volatility of the resulting fossil fuels. Everyone is looking at how they can become energy independent.”
Wind, solar and nuclear power are among the alternatives many countries are trying to increase as they also aim to meet the Paris climate targets.
However, an analysis by Columbia University suggests that Russia has a 46% share of the world’s nuclear fuel enrichment capacity, and the International Energy Agency warned in July that China has an 80% share “of all major stages of solar panel manufacturing.”
When asked why the US and others are not overly reliant on such alternatives, Ms. Granholm replied that “this clean energy move could be part of a great peace plan” and that such a move “helps people’s wallets, it helps the economy.” , and contributes to energy security”.
This year’s soaring increases in oil and gas prices have benefited the energy giants who are bringing them to consumers. In the first half of this year, five of the largest western energy companies, BP, Shell, Total, Chevron and Exxon, nearly tripled their combined profits to just over $95.2 billion, much of which went to shareholders.
Ms. Granholm said President Biden’s administration wanted such companies to lower prices at gas pumps “so citizens wouldn’t get hurt.”
While acknowledging that oil is traded on a free market, she urged them to help, “at least American companies as good American citizens” and warned they could face a windfall tax similar to the UK.
“We don’t want this huge win to trigger consequences, in Congress or elsewhere, that aren’t in their best interests.
“We want them to act responsibly and not buy back shares rather than ramping up production, production that would ultimately drive prices down due to increasing supply. We examine legislative instruments and put pressure on them in other ways.”
Another way the US could help increase oil supplies to global markets is by lifting some of the sanctions imposed on Venezuela by President Trump.
The South American country has the world’s largest oil reserves, but exports minimal amounts of oil due to restrictions. They were issued over alleged corruption and the political fallout from the disputed 2019 election.
An increase in supply would likely depress global oil prices. When asked if it was time to lift the sanctions, Ms Granholm didn’t dismiss the idea, replying: “I’m not going to get ahead of the White House on that.”
You can watch the full length interview with Jennifer Granholm Business talks with Aaron Heslehurst this weekend.
Viewers in the UK can catch the show on BBC News Channel at 3:30pm and then on BBC iPlayer.
In other countries, it will be broadcast on BBC World News on Saturday at 23:30 GMT, Sunday at 05:30 and 16:30 GMT and Monday at 16:30 GMT.
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