WASHINGTON—Republican U.S. lawmakers on May 18 slammed the Biden administration over a media report that it will waive sanctions on the company behind Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to Europe, even as the U.S. secretary of state told his German counterpart Washington opposes the project.
Republicans accused the administration of handing Russian President Vladimir Putin a strategic advantage in Europe after Axios reported Washington will waive sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, the company overseeing construction of the pipeline. It also said sanctions would be waived on Matthias Warnig, a Putin ally and the company’s CEO.
The pipeline would bypass Ukraine, depriving it of lucrative transit fees and undermining its struggle against Russian aggression.
The waivers will be in a report that the State Department will soon send to Congress, and will come despite sanctionable activity being committed by Nord Stream 2 AG and Warnig, said the Axios story, which Reuters was unable to verify.
The administration will sanction some boats helping to build the project, it said. The pipeline would take double Moscow’s ability to ship gas from the Russian Arctic to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
“Two months ago, President Biden called Putin a ‘killer,’ but today he’s planning to give Putin, his regime, and his cronies massive strategic leverage in Europe,” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said in a release.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said any waivers would indicate the administration was never planning to stop the pipeline despite Secretary of State Antony Blinken telling Congress the administration opposes it.
“If the Putin regime is allowed to finish this pipeline, it will be because the Biden Administration chose to let it happen,” McCaul said in a release.
A State Department spokesperson said: “The Biden Administration has been clear that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a Russian geopolitical project that threatens European energy security and that of Ukraine and eastern flank NATO Allies and partners.”
Gazprom, the Russian state energy company financing the project, and its western partners are racing to complete the project, now about 95% complete.
Blinken spoke with Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on May 18. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken “underscored the U.S. commitment to work with allies and partners to counter Russian efforts to undermine our collective security, and in that vein, emphasized U.S. opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.”
Recommended Reading
BCCK, Vision RNG Enter Clean Energy Partnership
2024-04-23 - BCCK will deliver two of its NiTech Single Tower Nitrogen Rejection Units (NRU) and amine systems to Vision RNG’s landfill gas processing sites in Seneca and Perry counties, Ohio.
Scotland Ditches 2030 Climate Target to Cut Emissions by 75%
2024-04-18 - Scotland was constrained by cuts to the capital funding it receives from the British government and an overall weakening of climate ambition by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said Mairi McAllan, the net zero secretary for Scotland's devolved government.
High Interest Rates a Headwind for the Energy Transition
2024-04-18 - Persistent high interest rates will make transitioning to a net zero global economy much harder and more costly, according to Wood Mackenzie Head of Economics Peter Martin.
Clean Energy Begins Operations at South Dakota RNG Facility
2024-04-23 - Clean Energy Fuels’ $26 million South Dakota RNG facility will supply fuel to commercial users such as UPS and Amazon.
Ørsted Exec: Offshore Wind Picking Up Speed, Despite Challenges
2024-05-08 - The offshore wind sector is regaining momentum in the U.S., with 250 turbines coming in the next three years compared to seven a year ago, said Troy Patton, head of program execution for Ørsted Americas.