Us Threatens Sanctions For European Firms Participating Inwards Russian Gas Pipeline Project

It's non precisely United States of America self-interest (selling approximately LNG) inward play here, although that is business office of the United States of America rationale, rather, in that place are actual safety concerns.
Especially every bit the northern hemisphere wintertime of 2017 - 2018 enters its 15th month.
From ZeroHedge, March 22:

As previewed overnight, the United States of America State Department is alert European corporations that they volition probable facial expression upwards penalties if they participate inward the structure of Russia's Nord Stream ii gas pipeline, on the grounds that "the projection undermines liberate energy safety inward Europe", when inward reality Russian Federation has for decades been a quasi-monopolist on European liberate energy supplies in addition to hence has unprecedented leverage over European politics, at to the lowest degree behind the scenes.

“As many people know, nosotros oppose the Nord Stream ii project, the United States of America regime does,” said State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert at a Tuesday press briefing. “We believe that the Nord Stream ii projection would undermine Europe's overall liberate energy safety in addition to stability. It would supply Russian Federation [with] approximately other tool to pressure level European countries, especially countries such every bit Ukraine.”

And speaking of Ukraine, retrieve that inward 2014, presently afterward the United States of America State Department facilitated the presidential coup inward Ukraine, Joe Biden's boy Hunter joined the board of directors of Burisma, Ukraine's largest fossil oil in addition to gas company. Surely that was simply a coincidence.

The project which began inward 2015 is a articulation venture betwixt Russia's Gazprom in addition to European partners, including High German Uniper, Austria's OMV, France's Engie, Wintershall in addition to the British-Dutch multinational Royal Dutch Shell. The pipeline is gear upwards to run from Russian Federation to Federal Republic of Federal Republic of Germany nether the Baltic Sea - doubling the existing pipeline's capacity of 55 cubic meters per year.

Nauert said that Washington may innovate punitive measures against participants inward the pipeline projection - which could survive implemented using a provision inward the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

 

“At the State Department, we accept spent a lot of fourth dimension speaking alongside our partners in addition to allies overseas to explicate to them the ramifications of CAATSA in addition to how an private or a fellowship or a province tin run afoul against CAATSA in addition to autumn into sanctions," Nauert said. "We don't tend to comment on sanctions actions but we've been clear that theatre steps against the Russian liberate energy export pipeline sector could – if they engage inward that sort of trace of piece of occupation organization – they could reveal themselves to sanctions nether CAATSA.”

Several European Union nations, especially Germany, accept repeatedly expressed involvement inward participating inward Nord Stream 2, yet the pipeline has been opposed yesteryear several child bloc nations, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania in addition to Hungary. Ukrainian authorities are also staunchly against the project, every bit it bypasses Ukraine in addition to would send on them monetarily....MORE

Wednesday:
"Germany’s Pivot From Russian Gas Will Be Costly"