The Nord Stream II natural gas pipeline is a billion-dollar investment with state-of-the-art European gas infrastructure that guarantees a secure supply of gas to both European residents and industry, the CEOs of three partner companies to Gazprom said late Monday in defense of the project's realization.
Klaus Schafer, CEO of Uniper, Mario Mehren, CEO of Wintershall and OMV's CEO Rainer Seele wrote an article in support of the project amid the emotive opposition to its construction.
The executives affirmed that facts are barely considered with progressing a project that can supply much needed and competitive, reliable power for energy-intensive industries in Europe.
They argued that natural gas provides the underlying pillar for secure supplies and will become even more important in this role, especially if Europe wants to achieve its ambitious climate goals.
'For this, we need not less but more gas - as a partner for renewables. Today, Europe can still supply a large proportion of its own production with gas. But domestic production is falling faster than originally forecast,' the article read and noted that at the same time, demand is rising, a fact that remains undisputed among experts.
'Above all, gas will replace coal and, together with the growth from renewable energies, will enable a climate-friendly and secure energy supply. Rising demand is encountering a decrease in domestic production – that means Europe's import demand for natural gas is growing,' the article said.
- LNG changes market but not Europe's needs
The CEOs stressed that although an expanding LNG market offers diversification of supplies, with U.S. LNG targeting the European market, it cannot compete with pipeline gas.
Europe has sufficient terminal capacity and has considerable interest in securing more gas for its markets, they said but noted that thanks to pipeline gas, they have comparatively low gas prices.
'U.S.-produced LNG is not interesting for Europe in terms of price because Europe is in a very good pipeline distance to major natural gas producers. This is a trump card from which we Europeans benefit every day,' they said.
They explained that Europe is efficiently linked via pipelines to many gas producers such as Norway, Russia and Algeria, which pays off not only economically, but also in terms of energy policy because it means security and reliability.
- Nord Stream II diversifies gas purchases and increases competition
The CEOs claimed that the Nord Stream II pipeline would provide another reliable route for transporting gas to Europe, and nothing more.
They underlined that more options mean more competition while several alternatives inevitably translate into greater security of supplies.
The companies also defended Russian gas and affirmed that these supplies are an essential component of the project, especially as there is no country in the world with more gas reserves.
'However, this is not about Europe's one-sided dependence on Russia, but about a partnership that has been ensuring very reliable gas supplies in Germany for several decades,' the article stated.
- Role of European Commission
The high-level executives were critical about the stance that the European Commission's stance (EC) has taken on the project.
'The EC needs to ask itself why it has not acted in an objective manner in the debate surrounding the Nord Stream II. The legal framework for this project is clear and leaves the European Commission with no room for negotiation – as the European Council's legal service has precisely confirmed. Here, applicable law must be consistently respected, because only this creates investment and thus energy security,' they contended.
'One thing should be noted: projects of this size will no longer be able to find investors in future if the sword of Damocles also hangs over economic projects, if they become instrumentalized in social or political discussions, or if they become their plaything,' they warned.
The Nord Stream II natural gas pipeline project plans to deliver Russian gas to Europe through the Baltic Sea supplying 55 billion cubic meters of capacity per year.
However, many European countries such as Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine oppose the project, claiming that it will increase dependence on Russia.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr