European backers expect Nord Stream 2 finish

German utility Uniper and Austria's OMV, backers of Russian state-controlled Gazprom's 55bn m³/yr Nord Stream 2 pipeline, expect the line to be completed, the European firms' chief executives said at the virtual European Gas Conference today.

The pipeline will be needed because of an expected decline in European production in the coming years, Uniper chief executive Andreas Schierenbeck and OMV counterpart Rainer Seele said.

The completion of the project is vital for Europe's future energy security and for its reputation as an investment destination, Seele said.

Work on the pipeline has resumed this week. Construction halted in December 2019 under threat of US sanctions, only restarting with the completion of a small pipeline section in German waters in early December. At least one of the line's two parallel strings could be ready to operate in the fourth quarter of this year.

But the project continues to face opposition from the US leadership. Recently appointed US secretary of state Tony Blinken said the US will continue to oppose Nord Stream 2, although the administration is willing to discuss Berlin's opposition to unilateral US sanctions.

Uniper and OMV are among Gazprom's financial partners in the Nord Stream 2 project, together with German oil firm Wintershall, Shell and French energy firm Engie.

By Jacopo Casadei