The German energy regulator BNetzA said on Monday (November 15) that Ukrainian gas companies Naftogaz and GTSOU will be included in the ongoing German certification process for the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline they have applied for.
“Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency or BNetzA) can confirm that it has invited the Ukrainian State Joint Stock Company Naftogaz and the Ukrainian Limited Liability Company Gas Transmission System Operator (GTSOU) to participate in today’s certification process,” it said in a statement after the investigation . .
On October 20, Ukraine’s Naftogaz submitted a request to participate in the Nord Stream 2 AG certification process to Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), the German energy regulator.
After Nord Stream 2 accepted the application, the German certification process began on September 8, 2021. The agency has four months until January 8, 2022, to reach a draft decision on NS2AG certification.
After that, the European Commission has two to four months to review Germany’s decision and make its own recommendations, and BNetzA is obliged to comply with these recommendations.
Ukraine stated that the NS2AG company (a wholly-owned entity owned by Gazprom) that built Nord Stream 2 cannot and must not be certified as an independent operator because European competition and energy laws explicitly prohibit energy suppliers from controlling transit routes.
The risk of a “permanent natural gas crisis”
Sergiy Makogon, director general of the Ukrainian gas transmission system operator GTSOU, told EURACTIV in an exclusive comment that his company welcomes Bundesnetzagentur’s decision.
He also warned: “If Nord Stream 2 AG is certified as an independent operator, Germany and Europe may fall into a permanent natural gas crisis in the next few decades.”
According to Makogon, Nord Stream 2 “has no commercial reason, but has all the characteristics of an energy weapon.” He argued that the current gas crunch in Europe is “a direct consequence of Gazprom’s deliberate and discretionary decision not to transport natural gas through Ukraine.”
in a Press release, GTSOU believes that Nord Stream 2 certification will undermine the rule of law in Europe.
“Certification will only make it easier for Gazprom to use natural gas supplies as a political tool against Germany and Europe,” said the Ukrainian Gas Transport Company. “Beixi 2 has distorted competition with other transportation routes, especially the Ukrainian GTS and the Yamal pipeline through Poland. It refused other suppliers, especially those from Central Asia, to enter the natural gas transmission network to the European Union, thereby weakening This has contributed to the EU’s efforts to diversify energy imports and promote competition in the energy sector,” it added.
Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko also welcomed BNetzA’s decision. “Our view remains: Nord Stream 2 pipeline operators cannot obtain certification unless they meet all the requirements of the EU competition and energy law. Gazprom has no special treatment,” said Vitrenko.
He believes that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is endangering supply security in Germany and Europe.
“This is anti-competitive and will not provide Germany and Europe with the necessary additional gas transportation capacity. The excess transportation capacity that exists today is more than sufficient, but Gazprom’s existing contract with the Ukrainian gas transmission system operator is not used. We Believe that Nord Stream 2 has no reasonable commercial purpose,” Vitrenko said in a statement. statement.
Ukraine believes that the Kremlin will be more likely to take the risk of seizing more Ukrainian territory if it does not further transfer Russian gas through its territory.
Without physical transportation through Ukraine, the possibility of an all-out war between Russia and Ukraine will increase https://t.co/952ZCDQrnQ
-Yuriy Vitrenko (@VitrenkoYuriy) November 5, 2021
[Edited by Frédéric Simon]
