Pipeline operator Nord Stream 2 can continue

The heavily indebted Russian pipeline operator Nord Stream 2 AG can continue its search for a new investor: The court in the Swiss canton of Zug has approved the restructuring agreement, it announced on Friday. The decision could still be appealed, the court said. Therefore, no further details will be disclosed.

Nord Stream 2 was intended to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany through two lines of a 1,200-kilometer-long pipeline in the Baltic Sea. It was completed but never went into operation. Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the German government halted the project. One of the lines was damaged in an attack in 2022.

There has recently been media speculation about the entry of US investors. One such person mentioned is Stephen P. Lynch, a wealthy US businessman and supporter of US President Donald Trump. The operation could become part of a US-Russian agreement to resolve the war in Ukraine, it was said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on state television in March: "Nord Stream is being discussed."

APA/dpa