The operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline can launch it without waiting for the certification process to be completed. This threatens with a fine of up to € 1 million, but against the backdrop of an impressive investment in the construction of the pipeline and rising gas prices, the operator “may be tempted” to launch quickly, according to the newspaper Handelsblatt.
The newspaper mentions two cases where the pipelines were launched before the completion of the certification process – the NEL project, the western branch of Nord Stream, and the German EGL 401 pipeline.
According to the newspaper, the launch before the approval of the German regulator – the Federal Network Agency – faces a fine of up to € 1 million.
“The amount seems reasonable. Investments in the construction of Nord Stream 2 amount to at least 10 billion euros. Given the constantly high level of gas prices, the operator may be tempted to quickly launch the pipeline, especially since this will save Gazprom transit fees for the passage of gas through Ukraine, ”the article says.
At the same time, the Federal Grid Agency emphasizes that these cases of obtaining a certificate are “in no way comparable” with the Nord Stream 2 project. A spokesman for the department said that it was impossible to draw conclusions from these two court proceedings, since “the facts of certification diverge too much,” and the companies themselves also differ.
Nord Stream 2 is a gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, bypassing the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine. Its construction was completed on September 10, but for the launch, the operator Nord Stream 2 AG must obtain permission from the German and European regulators.
The pipeline certification has now been temporarily suspended. The German Federal Grid Agency said that the Swiss company owned by Gazprom can be certified as an independent gas transmission operator only after everything is organized in a legal form in accordance with German law.
.