Germany wants to expropriate Nord Stream 2, or at least a piece
Germany is considering expropriating the German section of the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, cutting it off from the rest of the pipeline, and using the part on German territory to connect to LNG supplies that will arrive from the Baltic Sea ports. German magazine Der Spiegel reported Friday.
The plan is likely to escalate the gas dispute between Germany and Russia, said Der Spiegel, who did not cite sources.
Russia completed the Nord Stream 2 project last year, but Germany blocked the project's certification at the end of 2021. After Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2022, Germany suspended, but not canceled, for an indefinite period the project that was conceived to double the flow of Russian gas to Germany. “Now we have to reassess the dramatically changed situation: This also applies to Nord Stream 2”, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the time, adding that “certification cannot take place now”.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany, Europe's largest economy, laid out plans for two LNG import plants, in Brunsbuettel and Wilhelmshaven, in an effort to diversify supplies from Russia, which accounted for around 40%. of German gas consumption before the war. Russia, for its part, has drastically cut gas supplies to Germany via Nord Stream 1 in recent weeks, prompting Germany to rely more on coal-fired electricity generation to save gas and replenish its gas depot by l 'winter.
Earlier this week, Germany initiated the second phase of its three-phase gas contingency plan, preparing for the possibility of a complete shutdown of gas supplies from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
In an official statement, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said, as reported by Reuters, that the Germans will have to start reducing their energy consumption and blamed the current situation on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Not an easy situation, also because it is not the famous choice “Peace or air conditioning”, but the closure of the German energy-intensive industrial sector or not, with companies such as BASF, one of the largest chemical groups in the world.
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The article Germany wants to expropriate Nord Stream 2, or at least a piece comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-germania-vuole-espropriare-nord-stream-2-o-almeno-un-pezzo/ on Sat, 25 Jun 2022 07:00:56 +0000.