REUTERS
They are expected in February or March 2020.
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are ready to adopt a new bill on sanctions against Nord Stream 2 if Russia completes kilometers of the pipeline.
The sanctions will concern European investors participating in the Russian project and companies that will buy gas through the pipeline, Germany's leading business newspaper Handelsblatt reported, citing its own sources.
Read alsoEuropean Commission not to make any exceptions to energy rules for Nord Stream 2 – Kuleba
The sources claim that the introduction of the new sanctions is possible in February or March.
UNIAN memo. The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction and operation of two gas pipeline branches with a total throughput capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It should connect Russia's Ust-Lug and Germany's Greifswald.
This new pipeline bypassing Ukraine is to be built next to the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The construction of the pipeline was expected to be completed before the end of 2019. The pipeline will be 1,220 km long.
The project is being implemented by Russia's Gazprom in alliance with European companies – ENGIE, OMV, Shell, Uniper, and Wintershall.
Ukraine stands against the construction of Nord Stream 2 as it will most likely lose its status of a gas transit country, while its potential revenue losses are estimated at US$3 billion annually. The project is also highly criticized by the U.S., Poland, and the Baltic States.
On December 20, U.S. President Donald Trump enacted the U.S. defense budget for 2020, which provides, inter alia, sanctions against companies involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream pipelines. After that, the Swiss company Allseas suspended participation in the construction of Nord Stream 2.
On December 30, it became known that the company had withdrawn from participation in the project, its ships had already left the Baltic Sea.