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In Russia, Nord Stream 2 AG (Nord Stream 2’s design company) transferred ownership of parent company Gazprom to Gazprom International Projects.
Prior to that, GMP transferred its stake in Nord Stream AG (operator of the construction and operation of the first Nord Stream), as well as a stake in Blue Stream Pipeline Company BV (“Blue Stream”). Interfax reports.
The Russian gas monopoly also made the decision to transfer it to a special holding company “Turkish Stream” (South Stream Transport BV). To do this, a subsidiary of Gazprom International Projects Vostok 1 was created.
GMP was approved as a member of the gas holding group in March 2020. Dmitry Khandoga, head of the foreign economic activity department, became its managing director.
Nord Stream 2 will avoid transit states (Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and other Eastern European countries) through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.
The project is estimated at 9.5 billion euros. It is being implemented by Gazprom in alliance with the European companies Engie, Uniper, OMV, Shell, Wintershall. They pledged to finance Nord Stream 2 in total by 50%, i.e. for 950 million euros each. Gazprom will provide the second half of the funds: 4,750 million euros.
Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic States and the United States criticize the SP-2. In his view, the EU may become dependent on Russian gas. Ukraine also does not want to lose its role as a gas transit country. In this case, you will lose 3 billion in annual revenue. Berlin is committed to guaranteeing transit through Ukraine even after the construction of the gas pipeline.
As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, the Russian ship Akademik Chersky, which will complete the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, left the German port of Mukran, the project’s logistics base. After a month of parking in Germany, the pipelayer headed to the Russian city of Kaliningrad.
US sanctions are the main obstacle to the completion of Nord Stream 2. As of October 20, they concern insurance and certified companies that work with ships.
It will not be possible to complete and commission the gas pipeline without certification and insurance. According to Nord Stream 2 AG, the restrictions will affect more than a hundred European companies.
The US State Department has released a clarification stating that not only companies that provide ships for the construction of Nord Stream 2 will be subject to US sanctions, but also those that are engaged in modernizing the ships that are supposed to complete it, install the necessary equipment on them, or finance these processes.
At the beginning of the year, Russia promised to complete the project in late 2020 or early 2021, but so far the work has not started. The most likely candidate for the role of pipelayer is the ship Akademik Chersky, which has been in the Baltic Sea since May. The problem remains the lack of insurance, without which it is impossible to lay pipes in Danish waters.
The German newspaper Bild believes that the United States, under the leadership of newly elected President Joe Biden, will be able to stop Nord Stream 2 forever. At the same time, the Russians’ hopes that the new head of state can ease sanctions are in vain.
The US government is also preparing new lists of companies that may be subject to sanctions due to their work with the Nord Stream 2 project.
