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Nord Stream 2 to enforce compensation claims if commissioning prevented by politics

In general, geopolitical risks remain and could have consequences for the timing of commercial commissioning and operation of the gas pipeline, one of financial investors of the project said in its annual report

© AP Photo/Michael Sohn

MOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. Nord Stream 2 AG, the operator of the Nord Stream 2 project, may enforce compensation claims if the commissioning of the gas pipeline is prevented due to political reasons, Wintershall Dea (one of financial investors of Nord Stream 2) said in its annual report released on Thursday.

"Should the commissioning of Nord Stream 2 be prevented by political intervention, we assume that the project company will be able to enforce compensation claims. Currently, Wintershall Dea sees no reasonable scenario in which there will be political intervention without compensation," the company said.

In general, geopolitical risks remain and could have consequences for the timing of commercial commissioning and operation of Nord Stream 2, Wintershall Dea added.

On Wednesday, Germany’s energy company Uniper, one of Gazprom’s partners in Nord Stream 2, said it did not plan to file claims against the German authorities or the European Commission in the event of Nord Stream 2 freezing since it only acted as a financial investor, not a shareholder of the project. That said, the company has no grounds to believe that Nord Stream 2 AG is considering the possibility of filing a claim either.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated on Tuesday, the German government stopped the certification process of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project after Russia recognized the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.

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