Construction of Nord Stream 2 is complete, but this is not the end of the story
At today's morning meeting held at PJSC Gazprom, Chairman of the Management Board A. Miller said that the laying of the Nord Stream 2 pipes was successfully completed this morning at 8:45 Moscow time.
This landmark event suggests that, despite all external pressure and obstacles, the Russian Federation was able to solve global problems. Earlier it was published a message that the active operation of the gas pipeline should begin by the end of this year.
Nord Stream 2 and its importance
The pipeline was laid to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. At the same time, the capacity of the laid lines is set at 55 billion cubic meters per year. And the whole construction took no less than three years.
The representatives of Ukraine actively opposed the construction of the pipeline, expressing fears that as a result of the implementation of the new project of Gazprom, the revenues from transit would significantly decrease. The United States of America, which promoted its LNG (liquefied natural gas), also actively opposed the project, and also introduced various sanctions obstacles. And Germany and Austria showed support.
Initially, the project had several foreign partners, but due to sanctions, the project had to be completed on its own.
Completion of the construction is, of course, an important moment, but the further fate of the project will not be easy. So, according to the gas directive of the European Union, which entered into force on May 23, 2019, the pipe, which is laid through the territory EU after the effective date, must either be owned by a third party company or be filled with an alternative supplier.
This did not suit Russia and Gazprom in particular, and it was decided to sue, but the regulator and the court in Germany refused to take Nord Stream 2 out of the scope of this directive.
According to the representatives of Russia, this is a wrong decision, since billions of dollars were committed in this project. investments that relied on previous legal regulations and therefore technical arguments in this matter are not are appropriate.
Well, we will follow the further development of events and, according to many experts, a lot will depend on the upcoming winter. If the conditions turn out to be extremely harsh, then the EU will be able to reconsider its position and withdraw the gas pipeline from the law in order to provide its territory with gas in cold weather.
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