Page 10 - FSUOGM Week 48

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM

Nord Stream 2 work to resume on Dec 5

EUROPE RUSSIA is set to resume construction of the arriving in European waters in April, according
Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on December 5, to ship-tracking data. For months it remained
German authorities likely using its Akademik Cherskiy pipelaying moored off the German port of Mukran, which
"assume" that the vessel, Bloomberg has reported. Gazprom has been using over the years to store
Akademik Cherskiy The Nord Stream 2 operating company Nord Stream 2's pipes.
vessel will be used for informed Bloomberg about the date when Akademik Cherskiy is now located offshore
the task. work will resume, while Germany’s Maritime Russia’s Baltic port of Kaliningrad, the latest
and Hydrographic Agency told the agency “it ship-tracking data shows. The vessel is equipped
assumes” that the Akademik Cherskiy vessel will with a dynamic positioning system and can lay
be used for the task. down pipes without anchors. Such systems are
Construction of the 55bn cubic metre per favoured by regulators, as they minimise the risk
year Nord Stream 2 from Russia to Germany of encountering unexploded World War 2 ord-
ground to a halt in December last year after the nance at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
US slapped sanctions on the project. The puni- The ship was built in China in 2015 by Jiangsu
tive measures forced Swiss pipelayer Allseas to Hantong Ship Heavy Industry and was later sold
abandon work on the pipeline. to Gazprom. It was recently sold again to Samara
Only 160 km of the combined 2,640-km Thermal Power Foundation, according to Rus-
length of Nord Stream 2’s two string remain to sia’s ship registry. This move has been interpreted
be built. Russian authorities have said before as a means of protecting Gazprom from possible
they expect the pipeline to be completed by early further US sanctions.
2021, but have been silent on how they plan to ICIS estimates that Akademik Cherskiy can
achieve this. lay pipes at around a third of the speed that All-
The Russian-flagged Akademik Chers- seas was achieving before it withdrew from Nord
kiy left the Russian Far Eastern port of Nak- Stream 2. ™

Norwegian classification society
hodka in February and travelled through the
Asia-Pacific region and around Africa, finally

withdraws from Nord Stream 2

NORWAY NORWEGIAN classification society DNV GL, Baltic Sea to finish the pipeline, but whether or
hired to verify the safety and technical integrity not they have sufficient capability is unclear.
DNV GL found that of Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline, has dropped Gazprom is Nord Stream 2’s sole operator,
some of its verification out of the project owing to US sanctions, it said although Austria’s OMV, Germany’s Uniper
activities were on November 26. and Wintershall Dea, France’s Engie and Royal
prohibited under the The US State Department expanded its sanc- Dutch Shell have provided loans to cover half of
new guidelines. tions against Nord Stream 2 in October under its $11bn cost.
the Protecting Europe’s Security Act (PEESA). It Wintershall CEO Mario Mehren said on
applied them to any companies “providing ser- November 23 he remained hopeful that the
vices or facilities or upgrades or installation of project would be realised, despite the obstacles,
equipment” for vessels taking part in the project. stressing that European industry needed com-
Previously the act only applied to those provid- petitively priced gas.
ing the vessels themselves. Further US sanctions could be on the way,
DNV GL found that some of its verifica- with the US House of Representatives and the
tion activities were prohibited under the new Senate on November 18 forming a committee
guidelines. to reconcile the versions of defence legislation
“Under these new guidelines, we find DNV that each chamber passed earlier this year. Their
GL’s verification activities linked to vessels with goal is to pass the new sanctions by the end of
equipment serving the Nord Stream 2 project to the year.
be sanctionable,” it said. “DNV GL has therefore US actions against Nord Stream 2 have cre-
ceased delivery of services that may fall under ated friction in its relations with Germany and
the scope of PEESA.” other European countries set to receive the
Washington imposed a first round of sanc- pipeline’s gas. While President-elect Joe Biden
tions against Nord Stream 2 in December, forc- has vowed to oppose the project, it is unclear
ing Swiss contractor Allseas to quit the project whether he would be willing to strain Wash-
with just over 150 km of its offshore section left ington’s ties with Europe further by introducing
to lay. Russia has deployed its own vessels to the more sanctions. ™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 48 02•December•2020