Gazprom’s European partners under threat of US sanctions because of Nord Stream 2 pipeline
European partners of Gazprom are frightened of coming under US sanctions for helping to construct the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, said a member of the board of the German energy company Uniper, RBC new agency reported.
Reiner Hartmann heads the Russian branch of Uniper, a company that belongs to the Nord Stream 2 consortium of investors. He said the likelihood that the United States will indeed impose sanctions ,that it is threatening with, is "extremely threatening" for all of Gazprom's European partners.
Hartmann noted that, as result of thus, the European participants of the consortium, OMV, Shell, BASF, Engie and Uniper are all looking for an "investment decision" that should be made "while there is still time." In addition, he hopes that the German government and the European Commission will be able to negotiate with the US but he does not believe the talks would succeed because US President Donald Trump wants to supply shale gas to Europe.
In the second half of March, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said that companies cooperating with Russia within the framework of the construction of Nord Stream 2 could fall under sanctions. According to her, the United States is against the construction of the Russian gas pipeline because it will undermine the energy security and stability of Europe and it will also give Russia "another means to exert pressure" on it.