Lithuanian Gas Pipeline Hit By Large Explosion
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub heading.
A large blast has hit a gas pipeline in the Pasvalys region of northern Lithuania, near the Latvian border.
This Google Map shows the location of the explosion.
Note.
- Country borders are marked as white lines.
- The site of the explosion at Pasvalis Vienkiemii, is marked with a red arrow.
- Pasvalis Vienkiemii is about a hundred miles from Vilnius.
- About a hundred miles to the East of Pasvalis Vienkiemii, is the point, where Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania meet.
- Russian territory is about a hundred miles further to the East.
I have experience of the quality of borders in that area.
South-West of Lithuania and lying between that country and Poland, there is the small Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
These pictures show the border between Poland and the Kaliningrad enclave of Russia.
If the borders between Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania are as secure as this, they are almost an open invitation to saboteurs to enter and do damage.
The Anonymous Widower 
My first reaction on hearing about this was to suspect sabotage. On reflection though I’m not surprised that the borders between the Baltic States are so open, after all they probably saw no reason to tighten them after they gained independence. Clearly the situation regarding Russia and Belarus is more critical.
As for the Russians, or anybody else causing the incident, I looked at the situation regarding pipeline integrity in the USA. It seems incidents including explosions are far more prevalent than reporting in the media would suggest.
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/amy-mall/pipeline-incident-statistics-reveal-significant-dangers
Comment by fammorris | January 15, 2023 |
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I can’t remember an incident with any major gas pipelines in the UK and I started providing software to the oil and gas industry in the mid-1970s.
But we still get explosions in houses, as in Jersey recently.
I will never buy another new property with gas connected.
I had a gas leak outside recently, due to bad workmanship by the jerry builders, who build my house or because the tree outside pierced the plastic gas pipe.
Comment by AnonW | January 15, 2023 |
There’s a lovely video on BBC of a contractor using a rig to hammer in a piling only to rupture what seems to be a local distribution pipeline throwing him off his feet and displacing the rig – and that’s at 30-something bar. National distribution pipelines are over 80 bar. According to HSE we had a near miss in 2007 on a national distribution line when contractors were saved from themselves by an observant inspector on an adjacent site.
Of course if you ever lived on the Barbican development…………no gas.
Comment by fammorris | January 15, 2023 |
Thanks! I lived for nearly ten years on the Barbican. All that concrete, is a useless accelerant in a fire!
I once had a meal with Suffolk’s Fire Chief! What do you think is the biggest cause of domestic house fires in the county?
Comment by AnonW | January 15, 2023 |
Well judging by my performance since I became the rambling wreck I’ve been over the last few years I’d say cooking – the number of times I’ve left the gas hob lit is embarrassing. I’d always intended to fit an inductive electric hob.
Comment by fammorris | January 15, 2023 |
No! – It was smoking in bed!
I’ve only called the Fire Brigade twice. Once when my youngest son set several straw bales and a building on fire, by smoking in the straw. The other was a washing machine that caught alight!
Comment by AnonW | January 15, 2023 |