Another Nord Stream 2 partner walks away from the project due to sanctions concerns
The Norwegian company Det Norske Veritas (DNV) GL, an international accredited registrar and classification society, will not be able to provide a certificate of compliance for the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, which is built by Gazprom's subsidiary Nord Stream 2 AG, reports the Russian news agency RBC citing DNV’s press service.
"DNV GL will stop all compliance verification activities of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as long as the sanctions remain in force. We are implementing a plan to curtail our support for the certification of the project," the company said in a statement.
"In view of the current situation, DNV GL cannot issue a certificate upon completion of the pipeline," DNV GL reported.
The U.S. Sanctions imposed late last year halted construction of the $10.5 billion pipeline. The sanctions affected the pipe-laying vessels for Nord Stream-2. To date, about 160 kilometers of pipeline on the bottom of the Baltic Sea remain to be laid to complete the project.
The updated Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act (PEESA) expands these restrictive measures and establishes that sanctions will apply to companies providing services, facilities or financing for "modernization or installation of equipment" for ships that will work on the construction of Nord Stream 2.
"We want to make sure that all parties are clear that they can be subject to our sanctions," said U.S. Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources Francis Fannon.
On October 7, Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) fined Russian Gazprom $7.6 billion and imposed $61 million in penalties on five companies financing Nord Stream-2 for the construction of the gas pipeline without Poland’s consent.
If the Russian monopoly does not pay a $7.6 billion fine under the UOKiK’s decision, the assets of Russian Gazprom may be seized.