Gazprom Chairman Expects Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Completion This Year Despite US Pressure
The chairman of Russian gas producer Gazprom’s board was cited by the TASS news agency on the 26th March as saying that construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany would be completed this year despite US opposition to the project.
The United States said this week that sanctions against the pipeline were a real possibility.
The project, led by Gazprom with its Western partners, aims to deliver Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
Washington has repeatedly said the pipeline would dangerously increase Moscow’s regional clout. The pipeline would also bypass Ukraine, likely depriving it of lucrative transit revenues at a time when Kiev is locked in a confrontation with Moscow.
On the 26th March, Viktor Zubkov, Gazprom’s board chairman, said that work on Nord Stream 2 was already 90 to 92% complete, TASS reported.
“Work is under way actively, there’s a very small amount left,” Mr Zubkov was quoted as saying. “Of course it will be finished this year, definitely. The lost time is a shame, but that’s what happened.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the 24th March he had told his German counterpart that sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline were a real possibility and there was “no ambiguity” in American opposition to its construction.
Source: Pipeline & Gas Journal