Wintershall DEA, as one of the financial investors in the Nord Stream 2 gas project, has called on Thursday for compensation to be made in the event of commissioning delays in the project.
The German company, along with OMV, Shell, Engie and Uniper, are the investors of the project which has had its certification suspended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden announced that the US is expanding sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 AG, the company that built the controversial key gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, and its corporate officers.
Wintershall said in its annual report that its involvement with the Nord Stream 2 project is limited to the provision of loans together with four major European energy companies.
'The US has decided to place the Nord Stream 2 project within a broader geopolitical framework and is threatening all industries and parties involved in the project with sanctions. All of the loans made were grandfathered under the initial 'Countering America‘s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act 'CAATSA'., Section 232 PublicGuidance' from 31 October 2017,' the company said.
It said that on July 21 last year, the governments of the US and Germany, entered the ‘Joint Statement of the US and Germany on support for Ukraine, European Energy Security, and our Climate Goals', to create a framework for the commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 that would be politically acceptable for both sides, while defining measures to support Ukraine in its energy transition and achieving independence from transit revenues.
'Nevertheless, further sanctions legislation or other politically motivated impacts on energy projects with Russian participation cannot be ruled out. In general, geopolitical risks remain and could have consequences for the timing of commercial commissioning and operation of Nord Stream 2,' it said.
Wintershall underlined that in the unlikely event that the project cannot be put into operation and/or the Nord Stream 2 cannot service the loans, there are customary contractual provisions in place that aim to limit the financial risks for the group.
'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,' it said.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr