The Norwegian company certifying the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline withdrew from the project due to the threat of US sanctions.
It’s about Det Norske Veritas – Germanischer Lloyd (DNV GL). The company announced its decision itself: “The US State Department has published new guidelines for the European Energy Security Act (PEESA). Therefore we believe that DNV GL’s inspection activities on equipped vessels serving the Nord Stream 2 project are subject to sanctions. Therefore, DNV GL has stopped providing services that may be subject to PEESA, ”commented a spokesman for the Norwegian company.
DNV GL explained that her work on the Nord Stream 2 project consisted in reviewing the documentation and verifying the construction works in terms of compliance with standards. These activities included monitoring the testing and preparation of equipment used on board during the laying of the pipeline. The company was also to issue a certificate of compliance upon successful completion of construction.
The unfinished section of the gas pipeline (160 km) is located in Danish waters and in accordance with the regulations of the local regulator, the Danish Energy Agency (DEA), the operator of the gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 AG has the right to hire any third party who can provide a certificate of compliance confirming the compliance of the gas pipeline with the applicable national regulations.
The operator of the Russian project – the Swiss company Nord Stream 2 AG owned by Gazprom, declined to comment on the situation. “We cannot disclose or comment on commercial information. It is the governments and the European Commission that must defend European companies against illegal extraterritorial sanctions, “the company told journalists.
Nord Stream 2 plans to build two gas pipelines with a record total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters. Gas annually from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It is being implemented by Nord Stream 2 AG, the sole shareholder of which is Gazprom. European partners – Royal Dutch Shell, OMV, Engie, Uniper and Wintershall – finance the project in total half of the costs, i.e. EUR 950 million each.
The project is actively opposed by the United States, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and a number of other European countries. They support the most – Germany and Austria.
The US imposed sanctions on the project in December 2019. Then the main contractor – Swiss Allseas – withdrew from construction. And the construction was started 160 km from the German shore. In July, the U.S. Congress and the Senate approved a defense budget for 2021 that includes sanctions against both Nord Stream 2 insurers and certification bodies and companies that provide equipment or finance ship equipment.
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