FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) – The operating company behind the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany said Wednesday it has founded a German subsidiary as it seeks to get the pipeline up and running amid rising diplomatic tensions.
“The new company is to become the owner and operator of the 54-kilometre section of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline located in the German territorial waters,” the Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 AG said in a statement.
The completed pipeline is set to double capacity for Russian gas supplies to Germany and the rest of western Europe.
Germany’s energy regulator, which suspended the approval process for the pipeline in November saying it needed to first become compliant with German law, told AFP that the procedure was still suspended.
“We cannot at the moment predict when the process will begin again,” a spokesman for the regulator said.
The process would remain suspended at least until “the main assets and personnel resources” have been transferred to German subsidiary and the regulator has reviewed the paperwork, it said.
Approval has become a diplomatic chip amid rising tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.
Russia has been accused of withholding gas supplies to up pressure on European countries, leading to sharp rises in the price of energy this winter.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said earlier this month he stood by a German-US deal not to allow Moscow to use the pipeline as a weapon and that when it comes to sanctions, “everything” is on the table.
© Agence France-Presse
