The U.S. on Feb. 23 imposed sanctions on the company in charge of building Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, expanding penalties on Moscow after it recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
The sanctions, which target the Nord Stream 2 AG company and its CEO, Matthias Warnig, add to pressure on the Baltic Sea project that was designed to double the gas flow capacity from Russia to Germany.
Europe’s most divisive energy project, Nord Stream 2 has not begun operations pending certification by Germany and the EU.
Germany on Feb. 22 halted the pipeline, worth $11 billion, citing Russia’s actions toward Ukraine. The U.S. and the EU worry the pipeline will increase Europe’s dependence on Russian energy supplies and deny transit fees to Ukraine, host to another Russian gas pipeline.
In a statement on Feb. 23, U.S. President Joe Biden said his administration had been closely coordinating Nord Stream 2 action with Germany, adding: “Today, I have directed my administration to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its corporate officers.”
Biden added: “These steps are another piece of our initial tranche of sanctions in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine. As I have made clear, we will not hesitate to take further steps if Russia continues to escalate.”
The U.S. Treasury Department issued a general license authorizing the “wind down” of transactions with Nord Stream 2 AG until March 2.
The sanctions did not affect Gerhard Schroeder, a former German chancellor and a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s who has headed the shareholders committee of Nord Stream since 2005.
Nord Stream 2 AG is a registered Swiss firm whose parent company is the Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom. Gazprom owns the entire pipeline but paid half the costs, with the rest shared by Shell, Austria’s, France’s Engie and Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall DEA.
Recommended Reading
SLB Capturi Completes First Industrial-Scale CCS Facility
2024-12-03 - SLB Capturi, a JV between SLB and Aker Carbon Capture, said it had reached a milestone with the world’s first industrial-scale carbon capture plant at a cement facility.
USA BioEnergy Secures Texas Land for $2.8B Biorefinery
2025-01-13 - USA BioEnergy subsidiary Texas Renewable Fuels plans to annually convert 1 million tons of forest thinnings into 65 million gallons of net-zero transportation fuel, including SAF and renewable naphtha.
Tallgrass Secures Rights of Way for Green Plains’ Trailblazer CCS Project
2025-01-16 - Green Plains’ Trailblazer project will transport captured biogenic CO2 from a number of Nebraska ethanol facilities to sequestration wells in Wyoming.
California Resources Advances California’s First CCS Project
2025-01-06 - California Resources Corp. will invest between $14 million and $18 million to capture the CO2, the company said in a news release.
Treasury’s New Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs Open Door to NatGas Producers
2025-01-05 - The U.S. Treasury Department’s long awaited 45V hydrogen tax credit will enable “pathways for hydrogen produced using both electricity and methane” as well as nuclear, the department said Jan. 3.
Comments
Add new comment
This conversation is moderated according to Hart Energy community rules. Please read the rules before joining the discussion. If you’re experiencing any technical problems, please contact our customer care team.