Fearing sanctions, Swiss company Allseas stopped laying pipes on Baltic seafloor yesterday. This halted construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 Natural Gas pipeline. Allseas’ action was a response to US president Donald Trump signing the defence Bill which includes sanctions for companies involved in the project.
US sanctions target companies building the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea. According to US law, companies that are building the nearly $11 billion project will face asset freezes and revocation of US visas for the contractors. The same concerns face companies that build the TurkStream pipeline that is to deliver Russian gas to south eastern Europe. US lawmakers say this project is endangers Europe by making it too reliant on Russian natural gas supplies. This view is shared by governments of Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states.
The German and Russian governments expressed their dissatisfaction. Russia said it will proceed with the project regardless of US sanctions.
There is also a positive development in Ukraine. Gazprom and the Ukrainian government have reached an agreement that will keep Russian gas flowing to Europe until the end of 2024 and settle all related legal disputes. The Russian monopolist agreed to pay Ukraine almost two billion US dollars in cash to settle the financial dispute.
Originally the Kremlin had planned on the Baltic Pipe being online by 2020 allowing it to halt gas transit through Ukraine.