The German energy company Uniper expects that the Nord Stream 2 project will receive all the necessary work permits for a long time, which may affect the gas crisis in Europe.
“The certification of the pipeline, as far as I know, will be completed so late that it will most likely not be able to help us this winter,” said Klaus-Dieter Maubach, head of Uniper. His quote is quoted by Reuters.
Uniper is one of five European investors in the Nord Stream 2 construction along with Anglo-Dutch Shell, German Wintershall Dea, French Engie and Austrian OMV. Earlier, four out of five partners (except Engie) announced that they would no longer invest in the project. The United States, a major supplier of liquefied natural gas, as well as a number of European states, including Ukraine and Poland, opposed the construction of two lines of the gas pipeline, which will pump 55 billion cubic meters of gas a year across the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast to Germany.
Despite the sanctions, the construction of the gas pipeline was completed on September 10, and on September 13 the German Federal Grid Agency, one of the main supporters of Nord Stream 2, received documents from the Gazprom subsidiary Nord Stream 2 AG for certification as an independent operator … Consideration of the application and making a decision can take up to four months, after which it will be sent to the European Commission.
Earlier, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov ruled out pauses in the certification of the project, even despite the elections in Germany and the formation of a new government. “All departments, all bodies, including those that will certify this object, continue to work in Germany. Therefore, there is no pause in work there and is not provided for. The work is going on as usual, ”he said.
Maubach’s statement came against the backdrop of a gas shortage in Europe: according to Gazprom, the occupancy of European underground gas storage facilities lags behind last year’s level by 20.5 billion cubic meters. The exchange gas price on Friday broke a historical record for the fourth day in a row and for the first time exceeded $ 1200 per thousand cubic meters.
About 40 MEPs accused the Russian gas giant of deliberately raising prices and demanded that the European Commission launch an antitrust investigation. The US State Department also accused the company of undersupply of gas. Gazprom denies accusations of market manipulation and notes that pipeline gas supplies are “at historic highs.”
.
