The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be virtually inoperative if the United States imposes sanctions against its operator Nord Stream 2 AG, said Yuri Vitrenko, head of the Naftogaz board. According to him, the restrictions imposed on the Swiss company will force European companies to abandon gas purchases with supplies via Nord Stream 2.
“We believe that if the US government imposes sanctions against, as I said, the de facto division of Gazprom, Nord Stream 2 AG … then European companies will not buy gas from this pipeline and it will not work. In this regard, we believe that Europe has many options for action in order not only to prevent real and future challenges, but also to confront them, ”said Mr. Vitrenko during the YES Brainstorming forum in Kiev (broadcast on YouTube)
The first US sanctions against Nord Stream 2, according to Mr. Vitrenko, had an impact on the project and were successful from the point of view of Naftogaz. “We already had a successful experience. For example, US sanctions imposed in 2019 brought pipeline construction to a halt. It was 95% completed by the time the US imposed these real sanctions on companies that were afraid of them, and construction was stopped, ”he said. Recall that due to the restrictions imposed then, the Swiss company Allseas left the project, completing the construction of the pipeline.
The head of Naftogaz accused Russia of restricting gas supply routes and rising prices for it. “We already feel the difficulty of the situation, because due to the intentional, as I would say, acts of Russian aggression in the gas industry, gas prices in Europe have increased sevenfold (Mr. Vitrenko did not specify for what period. – “B”). It reduces supplies to Europe, it continues to block third parties’ access to the Ukrainian gas pipeline – other European companies that would like to buy gas from the Ukrainian border, and Central Asian exporters to Europe, ”he said. Note that over the month to September 10, gas prices in Europe according to the Dutch TTF index increased from $ 550 per 1,000 cubic meters. m up to a record $ 700.
The laying of the Nord Stream 2 pipes was completed on September 6, four days later Gazprom announced the completion of the gas pipeline construction. Germany, in agreement with the United States, has undertaken to impose sanctions if Russia uses gas transit against Ukraine. US State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter also expressed US intentions to oppose the pipeline in the future.
On the prospects for the launch of the pipeline – in the material of Kommersant, “Nord Stream-2 is connected to prices.”
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