Poland Fails to Hamper Nord Stream 2 Gas Project Implementation - Wintershall

Poland was not able to stand in the way of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, Chief Executive of Germany’s largest crude oil and natural gas producer Wintershall, Mario Mehren, said in an interview.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Wintershall and its western partners are working on ensuring financial support to Nord Stream 2, which is being implemented step by step, and Poland won't be able to prevent the poject's completion, Mehren told the German Handelsblatt newspaper on Thursday.

He stressed that Europe must act in its own interests and cannot give in to the concerns of Poland and Ukraine that their transit fees would go down because of Nord Stream 2.

Gas transport is not an investment into the budget of third party countries, Mehren emphasized.

Nord Stream 2, a joint venture of Russia’s Gazprom with France's Engie, Austria’s OMV AG, Royal Dutch Shell, Germany's Uniper and Wintershall, is expected to bring an estimated 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine, Poland and all three Baltic states.

The launch of the pipeline is planned for 2018. A number of EU countries, notably Germany and Austria, have been supportive of the gas project but others, including Poland and the Baltics, have argued that it would increase energy dependence on Russia.