The US Senate has recently passed a bill which recommended imposing sanctions on companies working on the Nord Stream 2 project. Trump is also reported to issue an executive order soon.
Are the US efforts going to halt the NS2 project?
Milosz BacharLevel 1
Will the US fresh sanction threat block the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline project?
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I do not think sanctions would halt the project as the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project is near to its completion.
It is officially unclear when the pipeline will start pumping the gas. There are still many complexities around the pipeline, including legal, environmental and technical. The weather is also not in favour, at the moment, to accelerate the process before any sanction starts hitting the companies.
Despite all the issues, I believe that gas transit will start during the first quarter of 2020.
Ukraine will try to influence Russia through the US as it is unhappy with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Currently, Russian gas passes through Ukraine to central Europe, which fetches around $3 billion annually in gas transit fees for Ukraine.
Once the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany operational, it will reduce Russia reliance on Ukraine for its European supply greatly.
Nord Stream 2 (NS2) is going be built parallel to Nord Stream 1. Most other pipelines going through Ukraine.
