Page 8 - FSUOGM Week 23 2021

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM

Putin hails completion of first

Nord Stream 2 string

EUROPE RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin announced Line A ... perhaps in early September.”
the completion on June 4 of one of the two “The physical completion of Nord Stream
Gazprom's has been strings that form the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, 2 has been one of our three catalysts for Gaz-
derisked as a result of bringing the delayed project a major step closer prom since February,” BCS GM said. “Despite
the development. towards launch. the signal from Washington a few weeks ago
“Today ... the pipe-laying work of the first that the Biden administration would effectively
Nord Stream 2 line was successfully finished,” cease trying to stop the project via sanctions, we
Putin said at the St Petersburg International Eco- didn’t think the completion of the controversial
nomic Forum (SPIEF). “Work on the second line line had been fully incorporated into the stock’s
is ongoing.” price.”
The Russian leader added that Russia was With one line fully laid, “the risk for Gazprom
now ready to begin filing the string with gas, from Nord Stream 2 has decreased further, and
and that the laying of the second string would be the stock is rightfully rising on the news. How-
completed in two months. ever, with another line yet to be completed, we
The Gazprom-run Nord Stream 2 operating think Gazprom still has room to run.”
company later clarified to Russia’s Vedomosti Speaking on June 7, US Secretary of State
that while the pipeline’s first string had been laid, Anthony Blinken described Nord Stream 2 as a
its parts are yet to be completely welded. "fait accompli."
Russian officials have expressed hope that "As a practical matter, the physical comple-
the pipeline will start commercial operations tion of the pipeline was, I think, a fait accompli,"
later this year. This is highly likely, Dmitry Blinken said, when the administration decided
Marinchenko at Fitch Ratings says. to waive sanctions. "And irrespective of sanc-
However, Maria Belova at Vygon Consult- tioning that entity and the CEO, that would not
ing warns that Russia may run into difficulties in our judgment have changed anything in terms
with certification. Norway’s DNV GL had been of the physical completion. I think we have an
hired to verify the pipeline’s safety and techni- opportunity to make something positive out of a
cal integrity, but pulled out in January because it bad hand that we inherited when we took office.”
feared violating US sanctions against the project. "We have agreements in place, upfront, to
According to Belova, Germany may not accept come back on any activities by Russia that are
assurances from Russian certifiers that the pipe- challenging the security or economic security
line is safe. of any of those countries," Blinken said without
Analysts at BCS Global Markets (BCS GM) giving details.
said the recent progress at Nord Stream 2 was Biden has opposed the pipeline project as a
“generally in line with [their] expectations, if a bad deal for Europe. The United States has been
bit faster in the case of both lines.” building up its LNG exports to Europe and is
The brokerage expected that Line B, the string already the biggest supplier, putting it in direct
that has been fully laid, “still needed a week or competition with Russian piped gas, which is
so before construction could be completed, and cheaper. ™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 23 09•June•2021