U.S. to drive a stake through the heart of Nord Stream 2

Washington, December 25 - Neftegaz.RU. The U.S. is preparing more sanctions against the Gazprom-led Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline project, Reuters reported, citing sources from the Trump administration.

"We've been getting body blow on body blow to this, and now we're in the process of driving a stake through the project heart," one of the sources told Reuters.

The news comes a day after construction of the pipeline restarted in Danish waters after a suspension that lasted almost a year, again because of U.S. sanctions.

The Trump administration claims that Nord Stream-2 will deepen Europe's reliance on Russian gas, giving Moscow greater influence in the political affairs of the continent. The claim gas its roots in the Russian-Ukrainian gas conflict from a few years ago, which resulted in Gazprom temporarily turning the tap off for its neighbor for unpaid gas bills. The conflict worried Europe that if it wanted, Russia could turn the tap off for all the countries it supplies.

Russia, for its part, says the U.S. sanctions are hybrid warfare as Washington wants to push its own gas—in liquefied form—on the European market.

"Let's take the sanctions against Nord Stream - it is a pure hybrid war that goes on like a war accompanied by unfair competition," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told media earlier this month.

The Nord Stream-2 project is a 1,230-km pipeline that will double the capacity of the current Nord Stream pipe to a total 110 billion cu m, most of them to be consumed by Germany. Europe's biggest economy is the staunchest supporter of the project despite political disagreements with Moscow.

Germany has set itself ambitious emissions-cutting goals that involve the closure of all coal-fired plants as well as nuclear plants. As a result, its reliance on natural gas has increased, and it needs cheap supplies to keep the lights on.

Author: Irina Slav