- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Washington Using Sanctions to Pursue US Interests on EU Gas Market - Wintershall

© Sputnik / Sergey Guneev / Go to the mediabankPipes for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline
Pipes for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline - Sputnik International
Subscribe
ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) – Washington has resorted to a sanctions policy to hinder the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project in an attempt to secure its interests on the European gas market, Thilo Wieland, a board member of German energy company Wintershall, told Sputnik on Thursday.

"The United States is openly using the sanctions mechanism to promote its interests on the European gas market," Viland said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Wieland pointed out that the United States aimed to oust Russia from the European energy market by supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the continent. He expressed doubt that the United States would be able to deliver the same amount of oil to Europe as Nord Stream 2 could.

READ MORE: Money Talks: Why EU is Increasingly Buying Russia's Gas Despite Sanctions

"It would take the United States to send 275 tankers with LNG a year to deliver the same amount of gas [55 billion cubic meters of gas a year] as the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would. Firstly, the United States should make sure it can make such deliveries. Secondly, it should assess the impact the deliveries would have on the environment since gas transportation via a pipeline always affects [the environment] less in terms of carbon dioxide emissions than transportation via tankers," the Wintershall board member pointed out.

On Wednesday, US State Secretary Mike Pompeo told the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee that the United States should continue to push back against the pipeline project.

The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction of two gas pipelines that will run from the Russian coast, through the Baltic Sea and to a hub in Germany. The project is a joint venture of the Russian Gazprom energy giant with French Engie, Austrian OMV AG, UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and German Uniper and Wintershall.

An employee tightens the valve on a pipeline at the Bilche-Volytsko-Uherske underground gas storage facility, the largest in Europe, not far from the village of Bilche village, in the Lviv region of western Ukraine, on May 21, 2014 - Sputnik International
EU Energy Chief: German Participation Needed to Maintain Gas Transit Via Ukraine
The anti-Russia sanctions, introduced by the United States in 2014, include various measures against Russia’s energy projects, including those being implemented in Europe, like Nord Stream 2.

SPIEF, held annually in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg, is a major global platform for communication between business representatives and the discussion of crucial economic issues. The event started earlier in the day and will continue until Saturday. 

Sputnik, which is a multimedia international news and information agency, is the official media partner of the forum. 

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала