Gazprom decided to withdraw from Nord Stream-2 joint venture
Gazprom, Shell, Uniper and Wintershall, which are all part of a consortium for the construction of Nord Stream 2 have withdrawn their application to create a joint venture. The group had already submitted the application to the Polish antimonopoly agency, as reported in the companies’ statement.
This decision will not affect the gas pipeline project, the report says. It also will not affect the Nord Stream 2 construction schedule.
The project will be implemented by a Swiss-registered Nord Stream 2 AG design company, which is controlled by Gazprom. Each of the applicants will individually find opportunities to contribute to the project, the report indicated.
In July, the Polish regulatory body UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) refused to agree on the creation of the joint venture for the gas pipeline construction. The agency pointed out that the creation of such company can lead to further limitation of competition on the Polish gas market, which is already dominated by Gazprom.
Members of the consortium, notwithstanding the joint venture notification withdrawal, sent UOKiK a response to the objections.
The second Nord Stream is planned to pass under the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The two branches of the first Nord Stream pipeline transport 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, the capacity of the third and fourth branches should be similar.