Gazprom to resume Nord Stream 2 pipe-laying before year-end

Moscow, December 1 - Neftegaz.RU. Gas giant Gazprom has decided to resume pipe-laying work before the end of 2020 on a 2.6-km part of the stalled Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.

According to a Reuters article, Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom and operator of the Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipeline, will name the pipe-laying vessel it plans to use at a later date. It did not say when the work would be finished or how the other remaining sections of the pipeline would be laid.

Work on the pipeline was halted last December when pipe-laying company Allseas suspended operations after U.S. sanctions targeted companies providing vessels to lay the pipes.

The resumption of activity comes after outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has staunchly opposed the pipeline, lost to president-elect Joe Biden in the presidential election earlier this month.

The pipeline, which Washington says compromises European energy security, has become a major bone of contention between Russia and the West and the relations between the 2 sunk to post-Cold War lows.

It is worth noting that the construction of the 1,230-km pipeline is nearly finished but a final stretch of about 120 km still needs to be laid in Danish waters.

Gazprom leads the $11 billion project but half of the funding comes from 5 European partners – Uniper, Wintershall Dea, Shell, OMV, and Engie.

To remind, classification society DNV GL suspended work on Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project just last week over fears of sanctions by the United States.

Author: Bojan Lepic