EU: Cap on Gazprom’s use of Nord Stream pipeline lifted

The European Union has lifted a cap on Gazprom’s use of the Opal pipeline in Germany which takes gas from its Nord Stream Baltic Sea pipeline to end-users in Germany and the Czech Republic, opening the way for Russia to expand Nord Stream’s capacity and bypass Ukraine as a gas transit route.

Together with a separate move to settle an antitrust case against Gazprom, the resolution of key disputes with Moscow angers some EU nations who want a tougher stance taken towards Russia over its military actions in Ukraine and Syria.

“It’s very good for Gazprom, it’s very good for Europe and it’s very bad for Ukraine,” Thierry Bros, a senior researcher at Oxford Institute of Energy Studies, said of the Opal decision.

Russia’s state gas exporter, which supplies around a third of the EU’s gas, retains its access to 50 percent of the pipeline under the new rules.

But it gains the right to bid for another 7.7 billion cubic metres of gas carrying capacity or as much as 12.8 bcm if other suppliers do not take up a provision giving them access, a Commission official said on Friday.

Reuters reported earlier that rivals will be given access to up to 20 percent of Opal’s 36 bcm of annual capacity.

Since its completion in 2011 Gazprom has only been allowed to use 50 percent of the Opal pipeline under an EU ruling to aimed at preventing dominance of the supply infrastructure.

The Commission said its latest decision, which applies until 2033, would improve competition: “This is not just a decision we’ve taken for political reasons, that we want to be friends with Gazprom,” a Commission official said.

Full Content: Reuters

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.