UPDATE: Germany’s regulator does not exempt N Stream-2 from EU directive

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BERLIN, May 15 (PRIME) -- Germany's Federal Network Agency (BNA) has turned down an application of Nord Stream 2 AG to exempt the gas pipeline project Nord Stream-2 from the rules of the new E.U. gas directive, as seen by PRIME in the BNA’s decision on Friday.

“On May 15, the seventh ruling chamber turned down Nord Stream 2 AG’s application for exemption of part of the Nord Stream-2 project, lying in Germany’s sovereign waters, from regulation (in line with the directive),” the document read.

The decision can be challenged within a month, the BNA said.

The agency also said that following the decision, the Nord Stream-2 is liable to comply with the price regulation rules, to grant access to a third party, and to separate the operator and the supplier, like all gas pipelines finished after May 23, 2019.

A representative of Nord Stream 2 AG told PRIME that the company will consider the decision of the German regulator and possible actions to protect the project’s rights.

A spokesperson for the company told PRIME that the BNA’s decision will not influence completion of the pipeline.

“We need to underline that the legislative base for construction permits differs from the E.U.’s gas pipelines exploitation rules, or the gas directive. That is why the processes connected with the gas directive will in no way influence finishing of the construction,” the person said.

Nord Stream 2 AG also said in a statement that it disagrees with the regulator’s decision, because the pipeline should be considered as finished in economic functionality terms as of May 23, 2019 because the operator had made non-returnable investment of 1 billion euros long before the E.U. announced its plans to adjust the gas directive.

The regulator’s decision demonstrates the gas directive’s discriminative action, the operator also 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 is implementing the project together with Germany’s E.ON and BASF, Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Engie.

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