Nord Stream 2 "past the point of no return"

European companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Engie and Uniper could face US sanctions

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Last week the US Congress passed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) - which not only increased the Pentagon's budget by $22-billion (€19.7-billion), but also threatened to place sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and any companies who had worked on the project.

The House bill, which is expected to receive Senate approval later this week before the president signs it into law, contains measures which target companies working on the assembly of the pipeline. The move is seen as a last ditch effort by the US to stop the controversial 1,230 km (760 mile) pipeline that will allow Russia to increase its exports of natural gas to Europe, depriving Ukraine of transit fees, which earn the country around €2.7-billion annually.

The €9.5-billion project, which runs parallel to the existing Nord Stream pipeline, is led by Russia's state-owned energy supplier Gazprom and five European energy companies and is expected to be complete in the next few months. When complete, it is projected to double gas shipments from Russia to Germany. Washington has repeatedly stated that the pipeline will reduce energy security in Europe and give Moscow too much geopolitical leverage over the bloc, whilst also marginalising Ukraine.

Gazprom head Alexei Miller has been saying for some time now that the project is "past the point of no return". 

The Trump White House has accused Germany of handing over billions of dollars to Russia and a French-led effort earlier this year to derail the project ended with Germany coming out on top.

Berlin, for its part, has hit out at the US sanctions, accusing Washington of "interference" and meddling in European energy policy.

In an interview, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Bloomberg: “European energy policy must be decided in Europe, not the U.S.”, before adding, “We fundamentally reject outside intervention and sanctions with extraterritorial effect.”

The project was due to be completed by the end of 2019, but has been repeatedly delayed and US sanctions are expected to further complicate, though not halt its completion entirely. 

The other companies involved in Nord Stream 2, aside from Gazprom, include Royal Dutch Shell, France's Engie, Austria's OMV and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall.

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