On Russia, Congress loathed the idea of Moscow sending 40% of Europe's gas supplies mostly through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Over the years, the US imposed so much diplomatic pressure on Europe to abandon the implementation of another pipeline: Nord Stream 2.
It was supposed to be a major energy project in Europe, perhaps the biggest but also of major concern in Washington, where officials tried their best at scaremongering their counterparts in Europe.
Nord Stream 2 is designed by Russian energy giant Gazprom and the aim of the new pipeline was to double the amount of gas flowing from Russia straight to Germany.
The concern in Washington was the US sitting on an excess amount of gas supply from the shale gas boom but unlike Russia, there were little buyers.
The US has been eager to export the surplus to Europe on tankers in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and essentially replace Russian supplies.
What stood in the way of the LNG companies was Nord Stream 2, which all but ended the European Union's interest in building the more expensive LNG gas terminals that are needed to import American gas. The logistics of the whole operation did not make sense when there was a much cheaper option from Russia.
As the momentum for Nord Stream 2 was gaining speed, former US President Donald Trump, in his last year in office, signed into law sanctions from the US Congress against companies involved in the construction of the new gas pipeline between Russia and Germany.
However, many said at that time the sanctions came too late and would do little to end the project’s completion. Too much money had already been spent on Nord Stream 2, something to the tune of US$11 billion.
The layout of the new pipeline followed the route of the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea. While the Russian gas would serve most of Europe's energy needs the main countries involved, Russia and Germany, accused the US of using energy security concerns as a smokescreen for its own economic interests.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel even condemned the American sanctions, with then Foreign Minister Heiko Maas saying they amounted to "interference in autonomous decisions taken in Europe. European energy policy is being decided in Europe, not in the US” he said. An EU spokesperson said the 27-nation bloc “opposes the imposition of sanctions against EU companies conducting legitimate business”.
To the huge frustration of the American Congress, Moscow and Brussels brushed aside the sanctions and it was obvious that the pipeline was almost complete. Denmark gave the final approval needed for the project. The company constructing Nord Stream 2 said it was putting the final touches with over 2,000 kilometers already laid at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The pipeline was expected to start pumping gas earlier this year.
NATO's eastward military buildup toward Russian borders was met with the following threat by US President Joe Biden: "If Russia invades (Ukraine), then there will be longer Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.” Before adding "I promise you we will be able to do it."
Moscow says the NATO military buildup on Russian borders, the abandonment of the Minsk agreement and Washington’s refusal to answer Russian security guarantees forced it to conduct what the Kremlin describes as a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Three unexplained gas leaks, preceded by two explosions, occurred on the Baltic Sea’s Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines last Monday. Did the US force Russia into military action to exchange Russian gas to the EU with US gas in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic that battered the American economy?
In the aftermath of the Ukraine conflict, the US offered a quick commitment to deliver its own LNG to the EU telling Brussels this is a big step towards making Europe less dependent on Russian gas.
EU Commission Head Ursula von der Leyen said, "We aim to reduce this dependency on Russian fossil fuels and get rid of it. This can only be achieved through... additional gas supplies, including LNG deliveries."
"The US commitment to provide the European Union with additional at least 15 billion cubic meters of LNG this year is a big step in this direction because this will replace the LNG supply we currently receive from Russia."
The United States has committed to providing the EU with an additional 15 billion cubic meters (bcm) of LNG this year, with both sides aiming to ramp up deliveries to 50 bcm per year over time.
"Looking ahead, the United States and Europe will ensure stable demand and supply for additional at least 50 billion cubic meters of US-LNG until 2030," Von der Leyen said, adding this would replace one-third of Russian gas supplies to the EU today.
"We need to secure our supplies not just for next winter but also for the years ahead", she added. "Our partnership aims to sustain us through this war."
The timing of the leaks and explosions has raised many eyebrows. It occurs just as Europe is getting restless with skyrocketing energy bills that are making voters topple one government after the other. While Nord Stream 1 was filled with gas when the explosions occurred, it was not pumping to Europe as a result of Western sanctions that had led to technical issues.
However, such is the severity of the European energy crisis. The sanctions could have been lifted on the pipeline, the maintenance issues resolved and the energy flows resumed. Not just Nord Stream 1 but gas could have been delivered through Nord Stream 2 as well to get to Europe by the winter.
Russia has said that the ruptures appear to be the result of state-sponsored "terrorism".
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of organizing the blasts that led to numerous gas leaks.
“Sanctions are not enough for the West. They have switched to sabotage. Unbelievable, but it is a fact!” Putin said during a televised speech.
“By organizing explosions on the Nord Stream international gas pipelines that run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, they actually started destroying European energy infrastructure,” Putin said. “It is clear to everyone who benefits from this,” he added.
The Kremlin says the incidents on two major undersea gas pipelines from Russia to Germany look like acts of state-sponsored "terrorism".
"This
looks like an act of terrorism, possibly on a state level," Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"It is very difficult to imagine that such an act of a terrorism could have happened without the involvement of a state of some kind, this is a very dangerous situation which requires an urgent investigation," Peskov said.
There have been many protests against energy price hikes across Europe which has put pressure on governments to return Russian energy. The German chancellor visited Persian Arab Gulf countries to try to secure energy supplies.
The Russian Foreign Ministry says US President Joe Biden is “obliged” to answer if Washington is behind the gas leaks. “On February 7, 2022, Joe Biden said that Nord Stream would be finished if Russia invaded Ukraine,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on social media, posting a video of Biden saying “we will bring an end” to Nord Stream 2 if Russian tanks cross Ukraine’s border.
“Biden is obliged to answer the question of whether the US carried out its threat,” Zakharova added.
“A statement of intent was backed by a promise. We must be responsible for our words... Europe must know the truth,” Zakharova added.
The ministry says the ruptures to the pipelines occurred in territory that is "fully under the control" of US intelligence agencies.
No comments:
Post a Comment