Allseas has suspended
pipelay activities until legal, technical, and environmental clarifications are
received.
MOSCOW, December 21.
/TASS/. Companies participating in the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas
pipeline will work to complete the project as soon as possible, Nord Stream 2
AG told TASS.
"Allseas has
suspended pipelay activities until legal, technical, and environmental
clarifications are received," the company noted.
"Completion of
the project is important for the security of energy supplies to Europe. We,
together with the companies participating in the project, will work to complete
it as soon as possible," the company added.
Switzerland-based
Allseas, pipe-laying company for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, reported earlier
suspension of pipelay activities. "In anticipation of the enactment of the
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Allseas has suspended its Nord
Stream 2 pipelay activities. Allseas will proceed, consistent with the
legislation’s wind down provision and expect guidance comprising of the
necessary regulatory, technical and environmental clarifications from the
relevant US authority," the company said.
It was reported
earlier on Saturday that sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas
pipelines, included in the military budget for the 2020 fiscal year signed by
US President Donald Trump (began on October 1), came into force.
Russian presidential
spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that US sanctions against Nord Stream
2 violate international law and present a perfect example of unfair
competition.
The United States
Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) specifying the
annual budget and expenditures of the US Department of Defense for 2020 fiscal
year (started on October 1), which obliges the administration to impose
sanctions on the Russian Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream pipelines. Earlier, on
December 11, the House of Representatives voted for the document.
The Nord Stream 2
project involves construction of two lines with a total capacity of 55 bln
cubic meters of gas per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to
Germany. Gazprom’s European partners in the project are German Uniper and
Wintershall, Austrian OMV, French Engie and Anglo-Dutch Shell. The pipeline
bypasses transit states - Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and other East European and
Baltic countries - through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters
of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.
Source: ITAR-TASS
21-12-2019
