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The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline at the bottom of the Baltic Sea has been discontinued in one of the project countries, Germany. The country’s Federal Communications Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has rejected Nord Stream 2’s request as incompatible with the EU gas directive, writes Deutsche Welle.
The German newspaper Handelsblatt has previously announced that the German regulator intends to give the project a red light due to non-compliance with the European regulatory framework.
Cannot be supplied and administered
We remind you that this directive prohibits a gas supplier from operating a gas pipeline and transportation, which must be done by different and independent companies. The project is dominated by Gazprom, so the pipeline must be operated by a company outside the Russian state company.
Photo of Scanpix / Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under construction
It is true that exceptions are still possible, but only with the permission of the European Commission, and such has not been obtained.
Last week, a German regulator sent documents to Gazprom stating that the pipeline did not comply with German law in the energy sector. Nord Stream 2 connects Russia and Germany.
According to the German regulator, the final decision will be made after all parties have had access to the documents and have provided responses. It could be May 8.
The German regulatory agency is based on an updated directive adopted by the European Parliament on April 4 of last year, which prohibits pipelines from being operated and supplied by the same company. The European Parliament has substantially updated the EU energy rules, which, incidentally, did not affect the construction of Nord Stream’s first gas branch.
So far, construction work has stopped.
Following this announcement, the German government expressed its support for the companies involved in the construction of the gas pipeline.
“The federal government does not know how the project will be technically implemented, but it will continue to provide political support to the companies involved in the project,” the Russian newspaper Kommersant said Monday.
Last year, the United States announced sanctions on all companies involved in the project. As a result, the construction of the pipeline stalled, as the Swiss company Allseas, whose ship was laying pipes on the Baltic soil, had to abandon the project. In December, after the entry into force of the United States sanctions, the ship immediately left the Baltic Sea. No one can provide such equipment to the developers of the project.
Photo of Scanpix / Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under construction
True, the Russian Kremlin-controlled media has announced that Gazprom’s own ship, Akademik Čierskij, may complete the pipeline, but it only reached Kaliningrad last weekend.
The ship’s odyssey was amazing
The ship’s odyssey across the seas has stunned energy experts this year. Akademik Čersky, from the port of Nakhodka in the Russian Far East, which initially headed for Singapore and Sri Lanka, sailed through the southern African continent without using the Suez Canal. He was escorted across the North and Baltic Seas by a Russian warship, a rescue tug.
It is still unclear why the ship was in no rush to continue such a major gas pipeline to the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, already earlier this year, the Deputy Vice President of the Gazprom Board, Elena Burmistrova, said that Akademik Čerskij could complete the construction of the pipeline and that the project should be completed this year.
Some independent experts question the ship’s ability to lay pipes of the proper diameter required by Nord Stream, as it is intended for the construction of smaller pipes. It is true that the ship can be redesigned, but it will take time, and Gazprom does not. World gas prices have returned to record lows as the coronavirus pandemic and the declining global economy have reduced demand for gas, with US gas exporters pressing on the market.
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