Kremlin on Whether Nord Stream 2 Is 'Dead': Infrastructure Ready to Operate

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The infrastructure of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is ready to operate, it will not disappear, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

On Monday, Anglo-Dutch petroleum giant Shell has decided to withdraw from joint ventures with Russian gas giant Gazprom, including the termination of its participation in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, amid the Russian special operation in Ukraine. On Tuesday, Austrian energy company OMV Group said it will review the involvement in the Nord Stream 2 project.

"As for the death of this project, the infrastructure is ready, technically, technologically, logistically, and so on, this infrastructure will be in place, it will not go anywhere. Common sense and economic feasibility clearly indicate the need to launch this facility as soon as possible," Peskov told reporters.

Current hysteria makes it impossible to launch the pipeline, it is difficult to make forecasts now, the spokesman said but expressed hope that over time, a sober assessment of the situation will replace the hysteria.

The Nord Stream 2 is a 1,200-km pipeline project under the Baltic Sea. It was completed last September and is designed to double the flow of Russian gas directly to Germany. The new 55 billion cubic meters-per-year capacity pipeline was expected to double the original Nord Stream capacity to a total of 110 bcm.