Norway´s DNV GL refused to certify the Nord Stream 2 pipeline after new US sanctions on the project

Oslo, January 5 - Neftegaz.RU. Norwegian company Det Norske Veritas – Germanischer Lloyd (DNV GL) announced that it would not be able to certify the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline due ti the sanctions imposed by the U.S.

On January 1, the US Senate voted to override Trump’s veto of the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA includes a package of sanctions on corporations involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream pipelines.

“DNV GL will cease all inspection activities of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline system in accordance with the sanctions and as long as these sanctions remain in effect. We are implementing a plan to phase out our support for project verification, ”the company said in a statement to RBK .

Norway´s company has certified the 1st Nord Stream project annually since 2012. This verification procedure is aimed at minimizing risks to people’s lives, property, and the environment. Inspection of the pipeline is mandatory on its Danish section, the construction of which has not yet begun and is scheduled for mid-January 2021.

DNV GL's decision means that Russia will not be able to complete the Danish stretch of the pipeline unless it can find another company willing to provide verification services. Russian and Western experts believe that it will be very difficult to find Western companies who will be able to replace DNV GL. Private companies are unlikely to take such a risk.

In 2020, the United States increasingly sought to force the German authorities to revise its energy policy and abandon cooperation with Russia.

According to German media reports, the government of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania is preparing to set up a non profit foundation, “Stiftung Klimaschutz MV”, which would bring under its umbrella, the companies that would work for Nord Stream 2 completion and further operation.