German regulator says suspends certification of Nord Stream 2 AG

BERLIN, Nov 16 (PRIME) -- Germany's Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur, or BNA) has suspended certification of Nord Stream 2 AG, the operator of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas export pipeline, as an independent pipeline operator until it is reorganized under German law, the regulator said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Following a thorough examination of the documentation, the Bundesnetzagentur concluded that it would only be possible to certify an operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if that operator was organized in a legal form under German law,” it said.

The operator decided not to transform its legal form, but founded a subsidiary under German law to operate solely the German part of the pipeline. This subsidiary is to become the owner and operator of the German part of the pipeline. The subsidiary must fulfil the requirements of an independent transmission operator as set out in the German Energy Industry Act, the regulator said.

Certification will remain suspended until the main assets and human resources have been transferred to the subsidiary and the subsidiary re-submits all necessary documents to the regulator. The BNA informed the European Commission of its decision in advance, the authority said.

The Nord Stream-2 project envisages construction of two lines of a natural gas pipeline with an annual capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters, running from the Russian shore to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Russian gas giant Gazprom implements the project together with Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall Dea, Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Engie. The project is strongly opposed by the U.S. and several European states.

Certification of Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent operator will ensure that the Nord Stream 2 project complies with the E.U. Gas Directive. First, the Federal Network Agency of Germany is to draft a ruling, and then the European Commission is to revise it.

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