Nord Stream 2″MOSCOW, Mar 13The investors of Nord Stream 2 — Shell, OMV, Engie, Uniper and Wintershall — are unlikely to pay back the costs if the project is delayed or canceled, Andrey Gusev, a resident of the CSR expert club, told RIA Novosti. On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the sovereignty of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, and on February 24, Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine. In response, Western countries have introduced a number of new anti-Russian sanctions. In particular, Germany stopped the certification of Nord Stream 2. In addition, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland opined at a congressional hearing on Tuesday that the pipeline is «now dead» and that it is unlikely to «ever be revived.» especially since the operator can start bankruptcy proceedings,» the CSR analyst noted. The European partners financed the project by half, up to 950 million euros each. Shell, one of the five investors in Nord Stream 2, announced on February 28 its intention to terminate participation in the project. Gusev explained that potential claims for delaying or canceling the project could have several directions: state courts, commercial or investment arbitration.
Lavrov explained how Nord Stream 2 showed Europe's «real place» The imposition of sanctions affects the ability to fulfill obligations, and many actors will refer to force majeure, he added. The question of whether what is happening is force majeure will be one of the central ones, the analyst believes. If the imposition of sanctions is directly attributed by the contract to force majeure circumstances, then this increases the chance of exemption from liability for non-fulfillment of contractual conditions, although the court will still evaluate the impact of sanctions on the ability to fulfill obligations and establish a causal relationship, Gusev noted. Theoretically, the operator either European partners can initiate proceedings against the EU using the provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty. However, there must be certain grounds for such a claim, in particular, it will be necessary to prove that the investments were expropriated or measures were taken with respect to them that have consequences similar to the expropriation, that is, affecting the possibility of using the investments and their value, or investors will prove, for example that the fair and equitable treatment regime was violated, the analyst added. However, he stressed that he does not yet see such grounds. «Claims for termination of contracts due to a significant change in circumstances are possible, since they allow you to compensate for the costs incurred in connection with the execution of contracts. In addition, insurance companies will be involved in compensation issues, however, if provided that the situation that has arisen is covered in the contracts by the concept of an insured event. Payment of insurance indemnities will entail claims in the order of subrogation against the actors responsible for the losses,» he concluded. sea to Germany. It was implemented by Nord Stream 2 AG with its sole shareholder, Gazprom. The construction of the gas pipeline lasted three years and was completed in 2021.
