Nord Stream 2 Could Still End Up In "Investment Ruin"

[Juin]

Eager Beaver that you are for a Russian major military action against Ukraine.

Knowing full well Putin will take no prisoners in Donbas.

And the West will hammer Russia with unprecedented and draconian sanctions economic and financial. Knock your guys flat on their fat arses.

Maybe you should tell the Mullahs of Iran that they are supposed to follow your script and crumble from "unprecedented and draconian sanctions". They seem to be still standing

 

[Tangmo]

Twenty LNG tankers carrying natural gas from the USA arrived to northeast Europe Monday.

The U.S. liquefied natural gas from America eases the effects of dtrastically reduced gas to Europe from Russia that has made gas scarce across the continent and driven prices up almost 900% on average.

Indeed Putin's flailing campaign of gas blackmail of Europe, EU, NATO is frozen as the Europeans continue to tough it through the winter. The German regulator that suspended the certification procedures of NS2 past H1 of this year gave a kick in the balls to Putin and His Kremlin Mafia to include the 5 Big Bucks energy investors in Europe, to include two in Germany, Uniper and Wintershall that have a billion euros each in the pipeline project.

Gas Prices In Europe Drop As U.S. LNG Flotilla Arrives​

Jan 11, 2022

A flotilla of liquefied natural gas from the US has finally arrived in Europe, increasing LNG imports on the fuel-starved continent to a two-year high. The fresh injection of natural gas is helping to offset declining Russian shipments. Prices of European natural gas fell Monday.

Data compiled by Bloomberg shows LNG gas imports in northwest Europe jumped to their highest levels since December 2019. The supply comes from a flotilla of up to 20 LNG vessels from the US that began their sailings in mid/late December. Still, the flotilla only offers the fuel-starved continent temporary relief as Russia gas flows remain muted. The Yamal-Europe pipeline, sending gas into Germany from Russia, has been in reverse for three weeks, and other major pipelines into Europe have recorded below-average flows.

Gas Prices In Europe Drop As U.S. LNG Flotilla Arrives | OilPrice.com

LNG imports in Europe reached a 2-year high as vessels bringing fresh U.S. LNG supplies are helping to ease supply woes

oilprice.com

 

[Tangmo]

Maybe you should tell the Mullahs of Iran that they are supposed to follow your script and crumble from "unprecedented and draconian sanctions". They seem to be still standing

Nobody's trying to take 'em down.

It's their nuclear program that's the most serious matter.

Meanwhile it's fun swatting pests.

 

[Tangmo]

There's no denying it.

In fact Putin doesn't even try to deny it.

Putin and his minions simply say certify NS2 as the gas monopoly it is and Europe will get as much gas as it needs to get through the winter.

Yet nobody's buying it as the EU response is to overcome the massive Kremlin propaganda campaign to put the blame for the blackmail campaign squarely on Putin. Indeed, the German energy regulator has moved back the certification timetable from January to the second half of this year, which leaves Putin, Gazprom/NS2 and the 5 Big Bucks European investors staring at what they've said in their unsuccessful court proceedings as "bankruptcy risk" and "investment ruin."

IEA blames Russia for undermining European gas supply​

5 HOURS AGO

With soaring energy prices, Russian gas exports to Europe have been in focus amid a standoff between Russia and the West over border tensions with Ukraine.​

IEA blames Russia for undermining European gas supply

With soaring energy prices, Russian gas exports to Europe have been in focus amid a standoff between Russia and the West over border tensions with Ukraine.

www.trtworld.com

Russia’s Natural Gas Threat Is Far From Subtle​

Jan 11, 2022,

• While geopolitical tensions over Ukraine have dipped slightly in recent weeks, it is clear that Russia is still determined to increase its influence in the region
• U.S. LNG supplies staved off the last energy crisis in Europe, but cold weather is hitting again and EU members are desperate for Russian exports
• Against this backdrop, Putin’s threat regarding natural gas supplies could not be clearer, as Russia holds back on EU exports and signs new deals elsewhere

Russia’s Natural Gas Threat Is Far From Subtle | OilPrice.com

Russia is clearly weaponizing its natural gas industry, withholding supplies to Europe while signing new deals with other customers further afield

oilprice.com

Putin and his Kremlin Mafia together with AfD and Die Linke that are based in the former East Germany did everything they could to defeat the Greens first chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock in the election campaign of last year. Yet here Baerbock is as German Foreign Minister. Baerbock has just returned from her first official visit to Washington where she reiterated that the energy monopoly NS2 is stands in a direct and blatant violation of German laws and EU laws....

Bloomberg wrote in July that The Kremlin has launched a campaign against Berbock because of her position on Nord Stream 2. The agency wrote that the situation with Berbock caused particular concern in Moscow. A source close to the Russian government told the agency that the Kremlin is ready to go to anything to block its way to power. The Kremlin feared that Berbock’s victory in the elections would deal a serious blow to Russia’s global interests, destroy its ties with Germany and would benefit the United States, two people familiar with the position of the Russian leadership told the agency. A Bloomberg source close to the Kremlin said that Moscow already has enough information to harm Berbock, who is “ politically naive" and ”too sympathetic to the United States."

German Foreign Minister urged to “take a clear position” on “Nord Stream-2” - Russia News Review

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag Norbert Röttgen called on the new German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock to 'take a clear position' in & nbsp; regarding the Nord Stream gas pipeline & nbsp; & mdash; 2, '' reports Welt. “ It is impossible to imagine that & ldquo; Nord...

russianewsreview.org

NS 2 SK.

 

[Tangmo]

The increasingly desperate Putin's pulling all the levers of gas energy blackmail against Europe, EU, NATO, USA but still getting nowhere.

Today Putin and His Kremlin Mafia pulled the string of the chairman of the German Bundestag environment committee to bellow that NS2 needs now to become operational to prevent its becoming "a billion-euro ruin in the Baltic Sea."

This is why Gazprom/NS2 pleaded -- unsuccessfully -- to the EU High Court of Justice that if it can't operate as an energy monopoly it will face "bankruptcy risk" if not become an "investment ruin." Well, hey, it couldn't happen to nicer bunch of guyz than the Russians.


10 Jan 2022

Nord Stream 2 must run to avoid “billion-euro ruin” in the Baltic – German climate committee head​

The chairman of the German Bundestag’s climate committee, Klaus Ernst, is pushing for the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to begin operation. "Wanting a billion-euro ruin in the Baltic Sea is unimaginable," Ernst told to financial weekly WirtschaftsWoche. Ernst is a member of the opposition Left Party, which partly has its roots in former East Germany's ruling communist party and often stands for Russia-friendly policy. Ernst said he hoped that the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), which is reviewing the pipeline project, “does not allow itself to be politicised in such a way that it further prevents certification”.

However, analysts have said in recent weeks that existing pipelines to transport gas from Russia to Europe via Ukraine or Poland have not nearly been used to available capacity, with flows reversing at times. The general need for additional capacity in the form of Nord Stream 2 has long been called into question, as Europe can be supplied well via existing infrastructure. [Certification] Grid agency head Jochen Homann has said certification for the project in the first half of 2022 is unlikely. The Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 AG operator must first establish a subsidiary in Germany to gain certification.

Nord Stream 2 must run to avoid “billion-euro ruin” in the Baltic – German climate committee head

www.cleanenergywire.org

Alas this Russo-German commie guy in the Bundestag Klaus Ernst is in Die Linke party, AKA The Left Party, which is the son of the former East German DDR communist party which was included in the Communist Party of the Russian Union of Soviet Socialist Republics throughout the Cold War against democracy. So it's Putin pulling his Godfather strings again in Germany. Without result however.

Actually a billion euros is small potatoes to Putin, Gazprom/NS 2 and the 5 Big Money European investors each of whom put in a billion euros. This is because the pipeline project started out at 9bn euros and to begin operations in Q4 2019. However, now and because of delays due to US sanctions and consequent cost overruns, it's become 11bn euros in 2022 with German regulators saying certification to operate is not possible in the first half of this year.

NS 2 AG.

NS 2 Investment Ruin.

NS 2 IR.

NS 2 RIP.

 

[Tangmo]

Even Germany has been buying US LNG long before the current ongoing blackmail campaign of Putin and His Kremlin Mafia. Very little of it, but some. Indeed in a pique against US sanctions on the pipeline Merkel cancelled plans to construct two new LNG terminals at the German Baltic coast. However the tables have suddenly taken a hellova turn.

US gas supply to EU is 5x higher than that of Russia’s Gazprom so far in January​

Russian Gazprom has cause to worry as American liquid gas becomes more dominant among key recipients

Gas supplies from the United States to the European Union this January are five times higher than the volume Russian majority state-owned company, Gazprom, is supplying to its key customers, marking the first time in history such a situation has occurred on the European market. The import of liquified natural gas (LNG) to the EU is breaking records and is compensating for the rapid decrease of Gazprom gas supply which began in the fall of last year and continued through winter. The majority of this gas came from the United States, from where close to 30 gas tankers traversed the Atlantic to Europe in mid-December last year. They saved the EU from an energy crisis forced upon it by the actions of the Russian company. Despite assurances, Gazprom has not restocked supply in its own European warehouses based in Germany and Austria.


The increasing amount of American gas on the EU market is knocking down not only the prices of gas but also electricity. An analyst from StormGeo-Nena in Oslo, Bengt Longwa, explained that the price of gas directly influences the price of electrical energy, and that was currently the most important index. As a reminder, in August 2021 Gazprom completely ceased gas sales on the free market a few days after the court in Dusseldorf refused to exclude Nord Stream 2 from EU gas regulations, placing the fate of the €10 billion pipeline in the balance. “In such a situation Gazprom’s strategy may transform into a long-term political risk,” experts from the Skołkowo Energy Center warned at the time.

US gas supply to EU is 5x higher than that of Russia's Gazprom so far in January

Gas supplies from the United States to the European Union this January are five times higher than the volume Russian majority state-owned company, Gazprom, is supplying to its key customers, marking the first time in history such a situation has occurred on the European market. The import of...

rmx.news

Long term isn't so long either, as the German energy regulator in November suspended consideration of NS2 certification to January 8th with the option to take another two months, to mid March. Then in December the regulator said it stopped the clock on the processing, taking the legal option of extending a possible resumption of its consideration into the second half of this year. Gazprom howled and Putin reduced the flow of gas still more. Moreover Gazprom's storage facilities in its two BFF countries of Germany and Austria were left at 10% capacity to a max of 30% capacity.

This was after Gazprom supported by the Merkel government had lost its appeal to the Dusseldorf High Court. Gazprom was denied by the court retaining its existing monopoly of supply, transit, distribution. The court upheld German and EU energy law instead, requiring Gazprom/NS2 to share undersea pipeline capacity of 50% - 50% with a company totally independent of the Russian project. Same for distribution via the NS2 overland pipelines from Germany into western Europe.

Gazprom/NS2 and the German energy regulator continue to be arguing over German law that in this instance requires NS2 incorporated in Switzerland to relocate its primary resources office to Germany where it will be subject to German law. Switzerland is not in the EU of course which places NS2 outside the legal jurisdiction of both Germany and the EU Commission which is unacceptable. So Gazprom/NS2 have another six months of idleness to further consider the laws of Germany and of the EU.

Indeed, at the Dusseldorf High Court NS2 lost despite pleading in its filings a "bankruptcy risk" and of becoming an "investment ruin" if it's not allowed to operate as the monopoly Putin always intended the pipeline project to be. Given the original operational date of NS2 was Q4 of 2019 and the ongoing cost overruns, plus the German regulator's extended time period into the second half of this year, NS2's failed pleadings to the Dusseldorf court have become high profile and an increasingly looming factor.

 

[Tangmo]

US DeptState and the Energy Department are talking with energy companies globally and with energy exporting countries about getting natural gas to Europe in the event Putin makes new military moves into Ukraine.

The US and the EU Commission are committed to imposing sanctions on NS2 in the event. This would further preclude NS2 gas into Europe and it would compensate for gas being cut off entirely from a Ukraine under Russian military aggression. Indeed, US sanctions would likely kill the pipeline project completely given they would hit insurers, certification verification providers, Gazprom itself and NS2 itself and the 5 European Big Bucks investors that have thrown in eur 1bn each.

The energy corporations are advising Washington the natural gas market is tight while the US officials are determining which companies can delay routine pipeline and extraction maintenance so that emergency supplies of gas can be sent on to Europe this winter. USA is projected to become the world's largest LNG supplier this year yet East Asia is its big market.

At the urging of Potus Biden Democrats in the Senate killed the Cruz sanctions proposal but existing sanctions laws more than do the trick anyway. The extant sanctions laws were doing the trick until the idiot Biden gave a waiver to 'em in May which puts us to where we are now.

EU to probe Gazprom’s role in energy crisis​

Russia reduces exports to Europe despite high market prices and reduced spot sales


The European Commission is currently looking into all allegations of possible anti-competitive conduct by companies producing and supplying natural gas to Europe with a view to verifying whether the current situation on the wholesale gas markets in Europe can be attributed to commercial conduct by market participants, a spokesperson for Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told New Europe on January 14. A day earlier, Vestager told a press conference its strange that Gazprom is restricting supply into gas storage facilities at a time of increased demand. “We are looking into this as a priority because it is thought provoking that a company in view of increasing demand limits supply. That is quite rare behavior in the marketplace,” she said during the Q&A session of the press conference.

“We have sent out questionnaires to a number of energy providers in this field. We have got a lot of responses, but we are still waiting for responses among others from Gazprom. And of course, we are eagerly awaiting the information from them because the question of energy prices is very high priority in every household in Europe." “EU competition law can address possible distortions of competition by companies active in European gas markets,” the EU spokesperson said. Russia hopes the gas crisis and price spikes seen in Europe this year, and the inevitability of high prices this winter, will guarantee that the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany will be approved by Germany and the EU and become operational in 2022.

EU to probe Gazprom’s role in energy crisis

With high energy prices hurting consumers in Europe, the European Commission is currently looking into all allegations of possible anti-competitive conduct by companies producing and supplying natural gas to Europe with a view to verifying whether the current situation on the wholesale gas markets i

www.neweurope.eu

In a word, blackmail.

Blackmail by Russia enabled by the German political elites, ie, the historically Russia Hugging SPD and during this century the Merkel led CDU. The term for it is State Capture. The rise of the anti Kremlin Greens and the Free Democrats into government in the current coalition is encouraging however.

Still both the stoic Scholz and the SPD party leader continue to sing the praises of NS2 as only an economic project that is totally absent of politics or geostrategic factors, which is laughable on its face it is so transparently absurd. SPD is trying ridiculously to pretend that Kremlin geostrategic blackmail is not occurring or being attempted. Then again SPD is talking to their own voters in the exact way Trump talks to his base. And in broad daylight besides.

 

[Tangmo]

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Chancellor Olaf Scholz appear to finally be on the same page about Nord Stream 2.

Baerbock is in Moscow meeting with the ogre foreign minister of Russia Sergi Lavrov while Scholz is in Berlin meeting with NATO SecGen Jen Stolenberg.

Each of of emerged from meetings saying NS2 is an object of punishment if Russia invades Ukraine.

Germany Is Ready to Hit Nord Stream 2 to Counter Russian Aggression​

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Moscow yesterday and the Russian foreign minister Sergi Lavrov.

(Bloomberg) -- German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made it clear on a visit to Moscow that the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline would be a target for retaliation if Russia uses energy as a weapon. Baerbock -- a long-time critic of the gas link -- underscored the threat, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov standing next to her. “We have repeatedly underlined at various levels of this government that if energy is used as a weapon that would also have a corresponding impact on this pipeline,” she said during her first trip to Moscow as Germany’s top envoy. Amid the standoff over Russia’s troop buildup on its borders with Ukraine, the West has sought leverage and the nearly completed gas link to Germany offers a potential opening to put pressure on the Kremlin.


But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that his government stands by an accord with the U.S. made by his predecessor Angela Merkel, under which Germany agreed to take action if Russia weaponizes energy, and guarantee Ukraine’s status as a transit nation for gas supplies. “It also includes making it clear that there will be a high cost and everything is up for discussion if it comes to a military intervention against Ukraine,” Scholz said at a news conference in Berlin when asked about potential consequences for Nord Stream 2. “It’s important that we make it clear that it will have high political and economic costs.” At the start of her visits to Kyiv and Moscow, Baerbock on Monday signaled that the Berlin government may take action against Nord Stream 2, reiterating that it will have high political and economic costs.”

Nord Stream 1 News | Nord Stream 2 Latest News - NewsNow

Latest news on Nord Stream 1 & Nord Stream 2, a system of offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.

www.newsnow.com

It sounds like it's time to unite and show your colors given NATO is near convinced now Putin is going into Ukraine.

 

[Tangmo]

It looks like NATO SecGen Jens Stolenberg read the riot act to German SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Russia and also the still idle Nord Stream 2 pipeline during their meeting in Berlin today.

The meeting came after Scholz denied the RAF/NATO C-17 craft overflight by Germany. The RAF big cargo plane was delivering anti tank weapons to Ukraine so it had to take a circuitous route over Denmark. Indeed, this informal denial by Germany is not the act of a NATO ally.

Stolenberg traveling to Berlin to corner Scholz also came after SPD had cooked up a new and off center “peace policy. ” That is, suddenly when Putin's Russia is on a militarily menacing rampage at Ukraine and several other fronts in Europe, the new long time Russia Hugging SPD has sprung a cynical "peace policy" that is obstructing NATO and the Atlantic Alliance dealing effectively against its sole threating state, Russia. So Scholz came out of the meeting with Stolenberg sounding more like a NATO ally than the true red Putin acolyte that your standard issue SPD is.

Here's an analysis by Jana Puglierin who is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and head of its Berlin office....


Sanctions in the pipeline: Germany’s troubles over Russia and Nord Stream 2

The German government has finally dispelled the uncertainty around its stance on Nord Stream 2 and potential sanctions on Russia. But the major tests of Berlin’s ability to act may still lie ahead.

Scholz’s new statement should hopefully now bring more coherence to the German debate and reassure partners abroad who had started to see Germany as the West’s weak link. In December, Scholz had downplayed Nord Stream 2 as a mere “private-sector project”, taking pains to distinguish the pipeline’s operation from any wider efforts to prevent a violation of Ukrainian borders, describing them as “separate issues”. This argument was recently reiterated by Scholz’s fellow Social Democrat, defence minister Christine Lambrecht, and the party’s influential secretary general, Kevin Kühnert. In contrast, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock and several other leading Greens (and Free Democrats) have emphasised the geopolitical aspects of the project and articulated their related “security policy concerns”.

It may well be that the pipeline is overrated as a means of exerting pressure on Russia, but it had become for critics a symbol of everything bad about Germany’s Russia policy, and the lingering uncertainty only made this worse. How the new German government now manages this crisis with Moscow is the first major test of its ability to act in foreign policy. There are many indications that the crisis could yet escalate further. Domestic debate about the political dimension of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is probably only beginning. Pressure on Germany to contribute militarily to deterring further Russian aggression could increase very quickly. This could involve German arms deliveries to Ukraine, or sending greater support to the allies of NATO’s eastern flank. When that time comes, Berlin should seek to avoid the weeks of confusion it allowed to play out over Nord Stream 2 and sanctions.

Sanctions in the pipeline: Germany’s troubles over Russia and Nord Stream 2

The German government has finally dispelled the uncertainty around its stance on Nord Stream 2 and potential sanctions on Russia. But the major tests of Berlin’s ability to act may still lie ahead.

ecfr.eu

Ukraine itself has become the biggest issue since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. The fate of NS2 is intertwined with Ukraine. So it's a big deal for each government of the West. Yet it's a make or break situation for the SPD led coalition in Berlin given the long history of SPD patronizing and subservience to Russia.

Because with NS2 Putin has sucked in both SPD historically and CDU under Angela Merkel who quickly became Putin's BFF in all of Europe. Transparency International calls seizures such as Putin has made in Berlin of the major political parties of a country "State Capture." So it's encouraging that NATO and the EU with the German Greens and Free Democrats have begun to undo the State Capture of Berlin by the Kremlin Mafia. This won't be easy and it won't be smooth but it will be a constant and steady course driven by the Greens, Free Democrats, NATO, EU, USA to arrest Germany having become the weak link of the West.

 

[Juin]

It looks like NATO SecGen Jens Stolenberg read the riot act to German SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Russia and also the still idle Nord Stream 2 pipeline during their meeting in Berlin today.

The meeting came after Scholz denied the RAF/NATO C-17 craft overflight by Germany. The RAF big cargo plane was delivering anti tank weapons to Ukraine so it had to take a circuitous route over Denmark. Indeed, this informal denial by Germany is not the act of a NATO ally.

Stolenberg traveling to Berlin to corner Scholz also came after SPD had cooked up a new and off center “peace policy. ” That is, suddenly when Putin's Russia is on a militarily menacing rampage at Ukraine and several other fronts in Europe, the new long time Russia Hugging SPD has sprung a cynical "peace policy" that is obstructing NATO and the Atlantic Alliance dealing effectively against its sole threating state, Russia. So Scholz came out of the meeting with Stolenberg sounding more like a NATO ally than the true red Putin acolyte that your standard issue SPD is.

Here's an analysis by Jana Puglierin who is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and head of its Berlin office....


Sanctions in the pipeline: Germany’s troubles over Russia and Nord Stream 2

I noticed this item in Jana Puglierin's article which appears to have escaped your attention:


""""And, according to a recent survey, 60 per cent of the German population support the pipeline. If the Kremlin actually used energy as a weapon by, for example, blocking gas deliveries through Ukraine while offering to activate Nord Stream 2 instead, the domestic debate in Germany could quickly become very difficult."""



Is that for real? 60% of German population actually support Putin's pipeline??? I may have to dispatch a quick telegram to Moscow to inform the Dictator that he can dismiss the threats from the Green Frau. On Nord Stream 2 it appears it is the Dictator, and not the Green Frau, who has the Volk behind him. I am not surprised. The Volk know a good deal when it sees one. The Dictator has abundant gas, has always delivered, and at unbelievably low prices. How can any sane fellow argue with that. And as if that is not enough the Dictator has gone to great expense to deliver gas to the Volk directly, bypassing difficult Poles and Ukrainians. I say the Volk never had a greater Godfather than St Vladimir of Moscow.

That was a very good article. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Tangmo]

That was a very good article. Thanks for sharing.

Sure, no problem.

It was a very good article for all the reasons you omitted from your post. And that I included in mine.

There's another survey btw that shows 43% support in Germany for the pipeline. That's down by 12 points from 2020. The poll you cite is an outlier. The fluctuations including the poll you cite are far to great for your survey to be credible or valid.

An excellent article, yes. It's unfortunate almost all of it flew right past you.

 

[Tangmo]

As Tass points out, the Kremlin Mafia get the message loud and clear....

Nord Stream 2 not fully compliant with European law — Germany’s Foreign Minister​

The certification process has been suspended therefore, Annalena Baerbock noted

BERLIN, January 17. /TASS/. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline should fully comply with the European law for the positive conclusion to be given by the German regulator, Foreign Minister of Germany Annalena Baerbock said at a press conference broadcast by the Germany’s Phoenix TV Channel. "We articulated in the coalition agreement that the European law is effective for energy projects in Germany and this certainly pertains to the Nord Stream 2 also. The European law is not fully implemented at the moment in the context of this project and the certification process has been suspended therefore. We see geo-strategic links at the same time, otherwise we would not talk so much about that," the Minister said. "If there is further escalation from the Russia’s side, then we together with our partners will take joint suitable measures," she added.

Nord Stream 2 not fully compliant with European law — Germany’s Foreign Minister

The certification process has been suspended therefore, Annalena Baerbock noted

tass.com

Turns out Baerbock was warming us up for this one...

Green party representative to head Nord Stream 2 certification in Germany​

Friday, January 21, 2022

Green party representative to head Nord Stream 2 certification in Germany

The German Federal Network Agency, which is responsible for certification of Nord Stream 2 pipeline, will be undergoing a leadership change. On March 1, 2022, a former Greens politician Klaus Müller will take over the Federal Network Agency in Bonn (Bundesnetzagentur, BNetzA), reported the...

uawire.org

As per the Traffic Light signed coalition contract the Greens yesterday appointed a new chairman of the German energy regulator that has already suspended the certification process of NS2. The new chairman as of March 1st is a Greens former Bundestag member and well known state regulator Klaus Müller who is an economist by education, training, experience. Müller will take over the Federal Network Agency in Bonn, the Bundesnetzagentur whose nick is the equally awful BNetzA. This is as reported by the well sourced German newspaper Handelsblatt

Müller succeeds the current agency chairman Jochen Hohmann who after ten years heading the commission was not eligible for a new term and is retiring at the age of 68. It was Hohmann who in mid November suspended the NS2 certification process until Jan. 8th, then in December stopped the clock to say the process cannot resume until the second half of this year. Hohmann and the agency said Gazprom/NS2 are in a wholesale failure to comply with German energy law that is identical to the EU Commission energy standards, rules and regs.

Gazprom/NS2 is incorporated in Switzerland and thus exempt from German laws and EU standards. Hohmann said yesterday "there is no new status" to the NS2 certification application that was submitted to the regulator the past June. The 'no new status" statement by Hohmann means Gazprom/NS2 are doing nothing to relocate their primary business offices to Germany as required in the law by the regulator. Hohmann will leave the agency with no specific date in the second half to resume the certification process

In its report Handelsblatt which is an establishment mouthpiece said Müller is expected to take 8 more months after a date might be set in H2 to resume the certification process. That would take the process of the regulator considering certification into Q2 of 2023. As of yet the regulator has not set a resumption date in H2 because Gazprom/NS2 are not yet complying with the German laws and EU Commission anti energy monopoly mandates. So the Russians could find themselves with 14 more months of no NS2 revenue to think about it. Indeed NS2 with all its cost overruns has yet to make a single buck besides. The pipeline's scheduled operation date was Q4 of 2019. That is, until the US dropped its megabucks sanctions bomb.

 

[Tangmo]

It should be no surprise the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier is a long time luminary of the Russia Hugging Social Democratic Party SPD.

His off the wall and unsolicited remarks are those of a Russia patronizing and shameless sycophant. Steinmeier ignores Ukraine, Poland and the many many countries of Europe who were brutalized by the Nazi invaders and occupiers of long time sovereign countries. The Nazi campaign of annihilation against millions of Jews.

Steinmeier presents further conclusive proof the Kremlin Mafia have long since realized their prized State Capture of the German elites of Berlin. First the SPD and its Ostpolitik since circa 1970 with pipelines and now the CDU led by Putin's fast BFF in all of Europe, Angela Merkel, with pipelines and geostrategic issues forced by Putin and for Putin.

Germany's Steinmeier angers Kyiv with his comments on Nord Stream, WWII​

The president pointed to the "bigger picture," including Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, when asked about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. This did not go down well with Ukraine.

Date 09.02.2021

The German president said burning bridges does not show strength


Ukraine's ambassador to Berlin slammed "questionable historical arguments" made by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier regarding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Andriy Melnyk's reaction came as officials from Ukraine and many other European countries have grown increasingly frustrated with the German government's insistence on completing the project. Steinmeier defended the pipeline by saying that fuel sales were "one of the last bridges between Russia and Europe." "I believe that burning bridges is not a sign of strength," Steinmeier said. "For us Germans, there is another dimension," the president said. He said 20 million Soviet citizens were killed in World War II. "This does not justify any wrongdoing in Russian politics today, but we must not lose sight of the bigger picture," he added. "Yes, we live in the presence of a difficult relationship, but there is a past before and a future after."

Melnyk said Steinmeier's stance was met by "surprise and indignation" in Kyiv. The comments "struck deep" into the hearts of Ukrainians, the ambassador said. Steinmeier's comments ignored Ukrainian victims of Nazi Germany, Melnyk said. Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union during the war, and millions of Ukrainians also lost their lives. Germany has come under pressure for continuing to work on construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. France told Germany last week that it should halt production due to Russia arresting and sentencing opposition leader Alexei Navalny to more than 2.5 years in prison.

Kyiv angry at Steinmeier over Nord Stream, WWII comments – DW – 02/09/2021

The president pointed to the "bigger picture," including Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, when asked about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. This did not go down well with Ukraine.

www.dw.com

Indeed, in January a year ago the European Parliament voted a Resolution 580-52 to terminate the Nord Stream 2 pipeline immediately and permanently.

The German Greens vice chancellor and minister of energy Robert Habeck noted earlier this month that only two countries of Europe have gone all in on NS2, Germany and Austria, and that the pipeline does not conform to either German energy law or the anti monopoly stance of the EU Commission.

Steinmeier has nothing to say presently about the Kremlin Mafia unsuccessful campaign to date of blackmail against Europe and NATO to allow the Gazprom/NS2 to operate as a geostrategic monopoly. Indeed, Steinmeier and SPD remain true to the Bismarck Imperative to kiss up to Russia at all times no matter what. And no matter who you betray.

 

[Tangmo]

NS 2 AG incorporated in Switzerland has registered a subsidiary in Germany but the German regulator said today certification will remain suspended indefinitely.

A subsidiary doesn't meet the requirements of German energy laws however. NS2 has yet to relocate to Germany its "main assets and principal human resources" as required by German law. And the regulator will need documents to be submitted that verify all requirements are being met.

Putin is very reluctant for instance to relocate the NS 2 AG CEO Mattias Warnig to Germany from Switzerland. This is because Warnig is a former East German DDR Stasi whom Putin the KGB met in Dresden during the Cold War. The two have been BFF since. So Putin wants to keep Warnig out of Germany given Warnig is former Stasi and has become a wealthy man connecting German corporations to Russia....German authorities are certain to find a hundred tons of corruption in Warnig's sleazebag work. Much of which is traceable back to Putin Him Self.

Nord Stream 2 registers German subsidiary, certification still suspended​

MOSCOW/FRANKFURT, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The operator of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has registered a subsidiary for the German part of the pipeline to meet German regulatory requirements, it said on Wednesday, though certification for the project still remains suspended by Berlin. Nord Stream 2 said the subsidiary, Gas for Europe GmbH, will be headquartered in the Germany city of Schwerin. It will own and operate the 54-kilometre section of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline located in German territorial waters and the landfall facility in Lubmin as an independent transmission operator, the company said, to comply with German regulations. The pipeline was built in September, but has remained idle since then in expectation of certification by Germany and the European Union.


Germany's Federal Network Agency - which regulates the country's electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and railway sectors - in November suspended a process to certify the pipeline, saying the operator should register a legal entity in Germany. The regulator said on Wednesday the certification procedure will remain suspended until the transfer of the main assets and human resources to the subsidiary has been completed and the Federal Network Agency will be in a position to check the unit's documents for completeness.

Nord Stream 2 registers German subsidiary, certification still suspended

The operator of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has registered a subsidiary for the German part of the pipeline to meet German regulatory requirements, it said on Wednesday, though certification for the project still remains suspended by Berlin.

www.reuters.com

Since December the German regulator has made clear it will be unable to resume consideration of NS2 certification until into H2 of this year. No date in H2 has been set by the regulator to resume consideration of the NS2 application to be certified. And once the regulator might set a date in H2 it is expected to take 8 more months to complete the inspection of the NS2 application and documents that would prove a full compliance with German energy law.

So Putin and His Kremlin Krime Mafia are looking at a decision in 2023. Then the EU Commission takes over for its decision which will take yet another 6 months. Then it goes back to the German regulator for a final disposition which will take up to 4 more months. After which come the appeals to the courts in Germany and in the EU. Putin knows he needs now to muscle up certification by price blackmail or face "investment ruin" of NS 2 AG. And "investment ruin" has been in the pipeline for some time now.

 

[Tangmo]

This statement is by the retiring chairman of the German energy regulator Jochen Homann which is bad enough for Putin and his fellow Kremlin autocrats, yet the new chairman Klaus Müller is a Green former parliamentarian known for his tight regulation of consumer rights in his state. Müller says it will take him 8 months to review all the projects the regulators have and he takes over March 1st. So Merry Christmas Gazprom when you have yet another holiday with coal in your stocking at the cold and dark fireplace.

Gazprom is moreover stuck holding the bag for the entire euro 9bn original cost given the five European investors, two of which are German -- Uniper and BSF Wintershall -- have bailed. You see, Gazprom back in the 00 years was so confident that it guaranteed the five investors their investment, so when they bailed they left Gazprom owing 'em back their entire investments to date, which was January last year and roughly euro 790mn each.

So now Gazprom is looking at NS 2 Still Kaput overruns at euro 12bn plus returning euro 1bn to each of the five investors who were to put in euro 1bn each. Gazprom itself was from the outset covering the project for euro 5bn. Now Gazprom is looking at a Grand Wipeout of euro 17bn plus its own euro 5bn with NS 2 SK still not having made as much as a single buck. Not even a nickel.

German agency dashes hopes for swift approval of Nord Stream 2​

Jan 30, 2022

Berlin (dpa) - The controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline still has a way to go before it can begin operating, the head of the Federal Network Agency has warned.
The Russian owner Gazprom set up a German-based subsidiary to meet legal requirements for the pipeline, but agency president Jochen Homann told the FAZ broadsheet that "further steps are missing" before it can be added to the commercial register. Considering outstanding assessments, "a conclusion will unlikely be possible in the first half of the year," Homann said. The new subsidiary, Gas for Europe GmbH, is based in the city of Schwerin in northern Germany. It will submit the necessary documents to continue the certification process "as soon as possible," a spokesperson for the company said on Wednesday.

The EU gas directive [of 2019] created problems for Gazprom, Nord Stream 2's sole shareholder, because it requires the operation of the pipeline and the distribution of gas to be managed separately. Nord Stream 2 AG, based in Zug, Switzerland, had applied to the Federal Network Agency for certification as an independent operator. However, the authority put the procedure on ice in November, pointing out that the network operator had to be registered in Germany.

dpa German Press Agency

The dpa is a trusted, accurate and independent provider of news with the digital and multimedia content to power the media at home and abroad.

www.dpa-international.com

Neither is NS 2 Still Kaput an independent operator given it is owned by Gazprom and is structured and organized as a legally prohibited monopoly over supply, transit, distribution. Both German law and EU law exclude a foreign energy monopoly from the European markets. We see why too, given Putin and His Kremlin Krime Mafia have reduced supply to force prices upward to three times the norm in a campaign to try to blackmail German regulators and the EU Commission to approve the project now and as it is, ie, a monopoly over supply, transit, distribution and price. And which is why Putin & Mafia incorporated NS 2 SK in Switzerland which is not an EU member state.

US sanctions bled Putin for 13 months until Biden lifted 'em knowing the regulators would have their day -- more like years actually -- and yes, now the German regulator is drawing Putin's blood through the German landfall station of the pipeline. After which the issue of certification goes to the EU Commission that is opposed for even more bloodletting. Then back to the German regulator for what blood Putin has left. Once the regulators are finished turning Putin pale they go into the courts of Germany and then the EU courts. It's being summed up in two words actually, ie, "investment ruin."

So while Putin is a pretty good tactician he sucks at the geostrategic stuff. The European regulators saw him coming they did. It's no wonder then Putin is pissed.

 

[Tangmo]

Yesterday the German regulator said there's no rush to finalize its decision on certification of NS 2 SK.

Today it's the EU Commission that will also rule on NS 2 SK says "Unfortunately, this problem of weaponisation of gas flows is not new."

As I'd indicated, the European regulators saw Putin coming from his far away.

EU says Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline on hold for compliance review​

KYIV, Jan 31 (Reuters) - European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday the Russia-designed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has been put on hold and the Commission is looking into the project's compliance with Europe's energy policy. Russia's commodity exports have been under scrutiny against the backdrop of the Russian buildup of troops near Ukraine. "Clearly there is certain action from Russian side that triggered the European Commission's investigation whether Gazprom is in this situation acting in line with market principles.... Unfortunately, this problem of weaponisation of gas flows is not new," Dombrovskis said. He also said the European Union will do everything so Russia would not have a possibility to use natural gas as a weapon. Nord Stream 2 is awaiting clearance from regulators in Germany and the EU. Dombrovskis also said the European Commission plans to approve a 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) aid package to Ukraine on Tuesday.

EU says Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline on hold for compliance review

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday the Russia-designed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has been put on hold and the Commission is looking into the project's compliance with Europe's energy policy.

www.reuters.com

EU Parliament voted a Resolution in January of last year 580-52 to terminate NS2 immediately and with finality. The term in current use is "investment ruin."

 

[joluoto]

Let's just stop use polluting sources of energy altogether.

 

[Tangmo]

EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen stated definitively today the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will be included in EU sanctions against Russia if it violates further the sovereignty of Ukraine.

EU member states had been asking Von der Leyen to make the issue clear given the mumblings and feeble evasions of the German Chancellor Oaf Scholz and his historically Russia Hugging SPD government. Germans are always and forever loathe to upset Putin and His Kremlin Krime Mafia in any way whatsoever. Indeed many Germans shutter at the thought of committing any offense taken by Russia. Time indeed to kick Germany and its constant obstructions and weaseling out of NATO. And pronto.

Von der Leyen is btw former German Defense Minister in the Black-Red coalition government that expired in December last year. She is the opposite of Putin's BFF in all of Europe Angela "Pipeline" Merkelov. Merkelov has been sucking up on Putin's pipeline since the issue first came up a decade ago.

Von der Leyen warns Russia of gas pipeline sanctions over Ukraine​

European Commission president says Nord Stream 2 ‘cannot be excluded’ from possible measures

Nord Stream 2 will be part of the package of sanctions facing the Kremlin if Ukraine is invaded, Ursula von der Leyen has said. In comments that appear to go further than any commitments made by Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the European Commission president sought to clear up any doubt about the pipeline’s future. “Nord Stream 2 cannot be excluded from the sanctions list, that is very clear”, Von der Leyen said in an interview with the Handelsblatt and Les Echos newspapers. The commission president said the future of the pipeline, which is yet to receive regulatory approval in Berlin or Brussels, would "depend on Russia’s behaviour”.

The chancellor has come under heavy criticism domestically for the stance. In recent days Ukraine’s government had called for greater transparency on the potential range of EU sanctions facing the Kremlin. Von der Leyen responded to that call by shedding light on the package, saying it “ranges from closing access to foreign capital to export controls on critical goods, hi-tech components that Russia cannot simply replace, for example in the field of artificial intelligence and weaponry, quantum computers, lasers and space.” She described the sanctions list as “robust and comprehensive”.

Von der Leyen warns Russia of gas pipeline sanctions over Ukraine

European Commission president says Nord Stream 2 ‘cannot be excluded’ from possible measures

www.theguardian.com

It's also good news today that German retired if shady foreign ministry figure Dieter Haller who was Putin's personal choice to be chairman of the new NS 2 AG subsidiary in Germany, Gas For Europe submitted his resignation. The foreign ministry headed by the Green co-leader Annalena Baerbock has informed Haller he was not allowed to represent Nord Stream and Russia because "it would adversely affect official interests". In other words because Haller is a long suspected mole.

Nord Stream 2 has now appointed notorious Putin Fanbois in Germany Michael G Feist and Dr Wolfgang Peters as new members of the Gas for Europe supervisory board in Germany. The board will decide on the chairmanship at its next meeting but only if these two sleazebag Germans are allowed to hold their positions representing Russia. Indeed alongside these two seedy characters on the board are the Russians Elena Burmistrova, deputy chairman of the board of Gazprom and general director of Gazprom Export, and Paul Corcoran, financial director of Nord Stream 2. Their problem with regulators is that as Russians they won't be permanently located in Germany which will delay certification procedures for as long as it takes to correct the fault.

Nord Stream 2 AG CEO Matthias Warnig the former East German DDR Stasi and old chum of the KGB Putin and who's made a fortune connecting German corporations to Russia remains in Zug Switzerland where Putin thought he was clever to incorporate the pipeline from way back when. Indeed now the German regulator and the EU Commission are ruling NS 2 AG needs to incorporate in Germany where it can and will be subject to German laws and EU laws. Putin can't allow this of course, hence his miserably failed blackmail campaign of obstructed and reduced gas flows to Europe that has tripled prices during these winter months in northern Europe. Putin absolutely cannot allow the massively corrupt Warnig into Germany where even the credentials investigators will have their jaw drop at this guy's sleaze and ruthlessness.

 

[Tangmo]

The following is from a paid subscription service which I risk linking so I'll simply post it so interested DP readers can gain privileged knowledge and insight by it and without paying the cost as I cheerfully do ha....

​

Around five months after its completion, the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline is still not in operation. The German Federal Network Agency had suspended certification of the billion-euro project until the operating company implements the EU requirements for unbundling network operations and natural gas trading. ​

​

At the same time, it is becoming increasingly doubtful whether the pipeline, which is supposed to transport Russian gas across the Baltic Sea to Germany, will ever become operational. After all, the infrastructure project is part of possible sanctions imposed by the West against Russia in the Ukraine conflict. During a visit to Kiev yesterday, EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis assured Ukraine of support. He said the EU's review of an operating permit for Nord Stream 2 was on hold and that Brussels would do everything it could to prevent the Kremlin from using the supply of natural gas "as a weapon"​

Alas, those two fatal words, "investment ruin."

Compounding the problem of Putin and His Kremlin Krime Mafia, and as NS 2 AG argued unsuccessfully at the Dusseldorf High Court, Gazprom/NS2 needs to be totally exempt from EU laws enforced by the EU Commission and the German regulators that there not be a monopoly of energy supply, transit, distribution. NS2 had argued futiley "bankruptcy risk" if it were not exempted from the laws of EU and Germany.

Indeed and as the regulators well know, the more time that goes by with NS2 idle the greater the ever increasing risk of ruin. More power to 'em of course. After all, while Putin was confident ten years ago his registering the project in Switzerland would exempt him from EU and German laws, the regulators across Europe saw Putin and His Kremlin Krime Mafia coming from a mile away.

 

[Ug make hammer]

Let's just stop use polluting sources of energy altogether.

Yes, let's do that tomorrow shall we? Germany has the highest percentage of solar power of any major country but Australia (which is better suited), yet it's still just 10%. Since they shut down their nuclear power plants, they're an energy importer. So your suggestion is rather inane.

 

[joluoto]

Yes, let's do that tomorrow shall we? Germany has the highest percentage of solar power of any major country but Australia (which is better suited), yet it's still just 10%. Since they shut down their nuclear power plants, they're an energy importer. So your suggestion is rather inane.

It can be done.

Austria aims to have 100% renewable electricity by 2030​

Austria passes renewable expansion law​

 

[Tangmo]

It can be done.

Austria aims to have 100% renewable electricity by 2030​

Austria passes renewable expansion law​

Germany and Austria are the two most State Captured NATO nations of Europe, by far.

No other nation of Europe is even close to the Kremlin's ownership of Germany and Austria.

So alas, yet another Russophile self exposes himself thx. Anti American indeed.

 

[joluoto]

Germany and Austria are the two most State Captured NATO nations of Europe, by far.

No other nation of Europe is even close to the Kremlin's ownership of Germany and Austria.

So alas, yet another Russophile self exposes himself thx. Anti American indeed.

Speak for yourself. Natural gas should be abandoned. And the first step is to not order more of it.

 

[Tangmo]

Putin continues to be a miserable strategist as his failed campaign of geopolitical blackmail of Europe, EU, NATO, USA is directing all of 'em away from the Russo-German Axis of gas to other sources. Already the US LNG industry is smashing records for sales to Europe where many NATO countries except for Germany have or are constructing LNG terminals.

Indeed in 2020 the Putin-Merkel government cancelled plans for two LNG terminals to receive US gas on Geremany's Baltic coast because of US sanctions that had shut down all construction of NS2 from December 2019 until Biden lifted 'em in May 2021. The two planned floating terminals were budgeted at euro 1bn. So the message is clear from the Russo-German Axis of Energy, that it's us or nobody. EU chose nobody, for the time being at least while the Europeans with the USA seek other sources that are committed, reliable, safe, as Gazprom/NS 2 AG blows smoke about being while it absolutely is not....

NATO Reportedly Contemplates Building New Pipeline in Bid to Reduce Dependency on Russian Gas​

NATO has "plans" to build a pipeline that would connect Catalonia, Spain and France in order to reduce Europe's reliance on Russian natural gas, the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia has reported, citing anonymous sources in the country's government. The proposed structure could reportedly be used to transfer around 7 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year from Algeria and foreign LNG shipments. The latter could be stored and processed in eight LNG plants located in Spain and Portugal, the newspaper said. La Vanguardia's sources claim the proposal is on NATO's "working table".



The piepline project itself is not new and is known as Midcat. It was first proposed three years ago, but was rejected by Spanish and French regulators as potentially unprofitable. The reports of a new pipeline being discussed come in the wake of a tough year for the European energy industry, which faced spiking gas prices in 2021. The price tag first breached the ceiling of $1,000 per thousand cubic metres due to the EU's reservoirs being half full after a tough winter, only to reach $2,000 at the end of the year.

https://sputniknews.com/20220206/na...uce-dependency-on-russian-gas-1092797490.html

Gazprom's storage tanks in Austria, Germany, Poland among other countries are at 30% capacity as the Kremlin puts the energy squeeze against Europeans across the continent. Putin has weaponized energy even before his Pet Project can be certified to begin operations.

Putin is himself forcing regulators in Germany and in Brussels to do what they're doing already, ie, stall the pipeline into its "investment ruin" as in bankruptcy. Putin as much as tosses a stone into Ukraine then he may as well blow up the pipeline himself cause it will be a goner for sure. All the same, with the current course EU/German regulators are pursuing the only thingy that will ever move through the sucker is air.

 

[Tangmo]

Speak for yourself. Natural gas should be abandoned. And the first step is to not order more of it.

Breaking up the furniture and tossing it into the fireplace instead is not recommended.

Unless we put you in charge of energy acquisition.

Which we won't do in a million years thx anyway for playing. You can collect your prize at the door on your way out.