It is unlikely that Russian gas giant Gazprom, a shareholder in Nord Stream 2, would agree to hand over ownership of the pipeline to a U.S. investor, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, commenting on a report that a U.S. businessman plans to bid for the pipeline.
U.S. businessman Stephen P. Lynch, who has lived in Russia for two decades and has done business there, has sought a U.S. license to try to buy Nord Stream 2, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.
Lynch has sought a license from the U.S. Treasury to negotiate buying the pipeline infrastructure for Russian gas supply to Germany that was never used, the Journal reported.
Nord Stream 2 is currently under bankruptcy proceedings in Switzerland and if these lead to an auction of the gas pipeline, Lynch wants to be able to try to buy it.
The American businessman, who left Russia in 2019 and now lives in Miami, argues that American ownership of the pipeline would be in U.S. and European interests.
“The bottom line is this: This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for American and European control over European energy supply for the rest of the fossil-fuel era,” Lynch told the Journal in an interview.
Commenting on the report today, the Kremlin spokesman Peskov said “I have not heard that all shareholders are in favor of putting this critical energy infrastructure facility up for auction. I have not heard that the Russian side, represented by Gazprom, would like it sell, either.”
“I haven’t heard of Gazprom wanting to put gas transportation infrastructure in the hands of the USA,” Peskov said, as quoted by Russian news agency Interfax.
According to Lynch, many investors would not bid to buy Nord Stream 2 if it comes up for sale, due to the tangled geopolitical optics. But bidders will likely include Russian proxies, Chinese companies, and entities from other jurisdictions not aligned with U.S. interests, Lynch has said, according to the Journal’s sources.
Nord Stream 2 was never put into operation after Germany axed the certification process following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Source: By Charles Kennedy from Oilprice.com