Regulator says N Stream 2 certification depends on asset transfer

BERLIN/MOSCOW/WASHINGTON/VIENNA, Jan 27 (PRIME) -- Certification of operator of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline will continue when Nord Stream 2 AG finishes the transfer of the core assets to its German subsidiary, a spokesperson for the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) told PRIME late on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Nord Stream 2 AG said that it had established Gas for Europe GmbH subsidiary that will become the owner and the operator of a 54-kilometer segment of the pipeline in Germany’s waters to certify it under the state’s legislation.

“The certification process will be suspended until the transfer of the core assets and personal resources to the subsidiary company is finished and the Federal Network Agency is able to inspect completeness of the subsidiary’s documents,” the spokesperson said.

So far, the Bundesnetzagentur is unaware when the process could be restarted, the spokesperson said.

According to the materials of Gas for Europe GmbH, Reinhard Ontyd, a former manager of Germany’s E.ON and Nord Stream 2 AG, was appointed as the subsidiary’s executive director. The company’s supervisory board includes Chairman Dieter Walter Haller and members Yelena Burmistrova, Russian gas giant Gazprom deputy CEO and Gazprom Export CEO, and Paul Korkoran, Nord Stream 2 AG CFO.

Sergei Nechayev, Russian ambassador to Germany, said in an interview to Rossiya 24 television channel that Germany still stood for completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and that Russia had always been complying with its obligations on exports of energy sources to Europe in spite of the difficult political circumstances.

But U.S. State Department spokesperson Edward Price said in an interview to U.S. radio station National Public Radio that the U.S. planned to prevent the launch of the pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine. The pipeline has not been launched yet, and remains an instrument of pressure that the U.S., Germany, and the transatlantic community can use against Russia, he said.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a news conference following his meeting with European Council’s President Charles Michel that suspension of the Nord Stream 2 would not be enough to hurt Russia in case of possible escalation in Ukraine.

“Nord Stream 2, which is constantly in the center of discussions, is only one of several pipelines that run to Europe. If we think about the sanction regime and whether it is necessary as politics is combined with violence, it would not be enough,” he said.

“If we really want to act in a decisive way in case of military escalation, then the sanctions that we are discussing at the European level will be very hurtful for the Russian Federation,” he said.

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