Naftogaz Lobbies US on Nord Stream 2
Shortly after announcing it had hired Yorktown as a public relations consultant to set up meetings with politicians and civil servants in the US, Naftogaz said December 12 that CEO Andriy Kobolyev met last week with senior government officials and members of the US Congress to advocate against Russia’s Nord Stream II pipeline (NS2).
The planned 55bn m³/yr NS2 pipeline system would allow Gazprom to flow less gas through Ukraine, although some of its Balkan customers depend on gas from that route for now. Nord Stream 1 already bypasses both Poland and Ukraine, taking gas under the Baltic Sea to northern Germany, where most of it flows into southern Germany and the Czech Republic through Opal. NS2 would take a similar route, with most of the gas going south, this time to the Austrian hub at Baumgarten.
Kobolyev told his hosts: “Nord Stream II would not only be a blow to the Ukrainian economy and leave countries in central and eastern Europe vulnerable to Russian blackmail, it would take away Russia’s only incentive to keep some level of stability in eastern Ukraine. Right now, Russia needs to transit gas through Ukraine to make money by selling it on the European market. But if Nord Stream II is built, Russia will no longer have to rely on Ukraine’s gas transit system. These new conditions would allow Moscow to launch a full-scale war in eastern Ukraine. The US must not allow such a situation to emerge.”
He also said: “Preventing Nord Stream II is a mutual interest of the US and Ukraine. Naftogaz is fighting to stop this dangerous project, which would increase the dependence of America’s European allies on Russia and make them far more susceptible to Russian influence. But Russia has many Western partners in this project. Naftogaz can’t defeat Nord Stream II alone.... We need the US to make clear that it will not allow Europe to become more dependent on Russia.”
The US has enacted sanctions on Russia, but they do not explicitly prohibit companies from facilitating Russian gas and oil exports.
Separately Kobolyev expressed Naftogaz's condolences to the victims of the December 12 explosion at Baumgarten and said it would remain in touch with its European counterparts. Other gas company chiefs in the region have sent similar messages and offers, including Polish state-run PGNiG.