In December 2019, the US government announced that sanctions were imposed on Gazpromise and five European companies in a national defense authorization bill passed by the US government. The reason for the sanctions was only because of a natural gas pipeline developed by six companies - Nord Stream Line 2. What exactly is the reason why the United States is willing to break up with Russia and European countries?
Nord Stream 2, Russia and Germany lifeline
At the beginning of the 21st century, with the soaring international oil prices and the turbulence of the situation in the Middle East, the important role of energy was highlighted, and Germany, with developed industrial, had an extremely urgent need for energy.
In 2005, German Chancellor Schroder signed an agreement to decide to introduce natural gas resources from Russia.
A natural gas pipeline from Belarus to Greevswald was completed and put into use in 2011. About 40% of natural gas in European and other countries are imported from Russia through this Nord Stream Line 1 every year.
But with the intensification of disputes between Russia and Ukraine in recent years, the formation of a natural gas pipeline through Ukraine cannot stably meet the needs of European countries.
Europe is a large natural gas market. In 2019 alone, natural gas consumption in European countries was close to 600 billion cubic meters, accounting for 15% of the world.
In recent years, Europe has advocated reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reasonably responding to global climate change, and the demand for clean energy and natural gas has become even greater.
Russia has also urgently needed to find a new energy export market in recent years, and the supply and demand of the two sides have reached an agreement.
So European countries led by Germany and Russia signed the construction of Nord Stream Line 2. The route of Nord Stream Line 2 successfully bypassed Poland and Ukraine. It directly used Germany as the transfer point along the Baltic Sea to supply natural gas to European countries. Nord Stream Line 2 has the advantages of being more stable and having a larger transportation volume than Nord Stream Line 1.
Nord Stream 2 is expected to invest 10 billion euros, with a total length of more than 2,400 kilometers. It is expected to supply and transport nearly 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas to European countries every year.
For Russia, the putting in use of this natural gas pipeline can ease Russia's domestic inflation of natural gas market, and the continuous export of natural gas trade can increase Russia's fiscal revenue every year.
transports natural gas to core European countries. Natural gas can also be used as a geopolitical weapon in Russia, increasing the dependence of Western European and other countries on Russian natural gas, promoting friendly diplomatic exchanges between the two countries. The heating of Russia-German economic relations will also have a good start in the Nord Stream Line 2 project.
is different from Nord Stream Line 1, Nord Stream Line 2 does not need to pass through Ukraine and other countries, so there is no need to pay high transit fees. Since Ukraine and Russia have been on the Crimea issue, relations between the two countries have been stiff.
Nord Stream Line 1 has also become a way for Ukraine to impose sanctions on Russia. Nord Stream Line 2 can slow down the extent to which the Ukrainian government imposes sanctions on Russian natural gas export market.
After the release of the European Green Agreement, in order to achieve the conversion to clean energy, the demand for natural gas is increasing. The natural gas transmitted by Nord Stream Line 2 is expected to provide 10% of the natural gas demand for European countries.
Since 2018, Germany's renewable energy accounts for 40% of the total power generation, so for Germany, the Nord Stream Line 2 project can be regarded as a timely help.
The United States intervenes, and the three sides are head-on gambled
. This is such a win-win situation of friendly trade between Russia and Germany, but was intervened by Trump during the "last mile" of Nord Stream 2. Once the United States participates in it, the situation may develop in an uncontrollable direction.
Gazpromium and five other European companies in the United States were frozen indefinitely, and the countries through which Nord Stream Line 2 were also more or less threatened to varying degrees of the United States.
On December 20, 2019, Allseas, the Netherlands-Swiss company, which is responsible for laying Nord Stream 2 Line 2, the Netherlands-Swiss, announced that the company has announced the temporary suspension of the laying project due to the threat of US sanctions. The United States' kick in Russia and Europe has become a roadblock to Nord Stream 2.
Why did the United States impose sanctions on Russia and EU countries against natural gas pipelines? The reason is, on the one hand, because of the competition between the United States and the Russian gas market.
Trump is a businessman. After he came to power, he applied most of the business methods to national management. Trump tried his best to sell American natural gas to European countries, but Europe chose the latter between the United States and Russia. Nord Stream 2 will have a great impact on the United States' natural gas market share in Europe.
The market price of natural gas transported from the United States to Europe is around US$280 per thousand cubic meters, which is still the price of shipping costs on Shanghai.
Compared with the pipeline laying used by Russia, the United States is already slightly inferior in price. Over time, the difference is also an astronomical figure, so European countries chose Russia.
The United States can allow the existence of Nord Stream Line 1, but Nord Stream Line 2 is like the beginning of Russia's opening of the European market. If the United States does not curb this opening, , Nord Stream Line 3, Nord Stream Line 4, etc. may also follow.
By then, European energy will be completely dependent on Russia, so the United States will not only face the risk of losing the European market, but also lose its geopolitical voice in Europe.
The US sanctions effectively slowed down the construction period of Nord Stream 2. The interests of Russia and European countries led by Germany were blocked by the hegemony of , and the pipeline was laid nearly 90%.
How could Russia and Germany give up easily? For a time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and European countries spoke one after another, strongly condemning the US sanctions.
On May 4, 2020, the US Secretary of State attacked Germany again over Nord Stream Line 2, claiming that Nord Stream Line 2 is a matter that the United States urgently needs to resolve. The United States will make up its mind to prevent the smooth completion of the project and put pressure on European countries such as Germany to unilaterally give up the project.
German Chancellor Merkel Faced with the aggressiveness of the United States, he repeatedly stated that itself will not give up the Nord Stream Line 2 project , and that all matters regarding this project will not reach a consensus with the United States, and Germany and Russia have reached a consensus to agree to the postponement of the Nord Stream Line 2 completion.
, Russia, as the biggest beneficiary of the project, is also furious about the sanctions of the United States. The fundamental purpose of the United States is to suppress Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei publicly responded to the US sanctions bill that the US sanctions against Russia is undoubtedly a humiliation to European countries. Russia will not only not announce the suspension of work, but will instead make positive efforts for the smooth completion of the project.
The US sanctions caused opposition from Russia and European countries, which formed a three-party game, and no one of the three parties was willing to give in.
Although the United States imposes sanctions on companies participating in the project, it only delays the construction period. Russia is currently busy with domestic anti-epidemic work. Once it is freed, it will immediately restart Beixi Line 2.
is only a few hundred kilometers left, and the United States' warning and threat is useless. If you want to truly destroy this lifeline between Russia and Germany, can only fundamentally destroy it .
Such a three-party game method will also rise from political diplomacy to military friction. The United States, Russia and European countries are first-class powers, and the outbreak of war between the three parties will inevitably have an impact on the stability of the world pattern and the international situation.
Biden took office and gave up sanctions
, a lifeline originally used to solve the supply and demand crisis between Russia and Germany, has gradually evolved into a tripartite political and military "war line", The United States wins Ukraine, NATO and other countries join the chessboard, which is bound to disrupt the game of Russia and Germany.
If Russia and Germany are forced to the point of ending their lives, will they launch military revenge on the United States, or will the United States really take a military strike against Nord Stream Line 2?
The US sanctions against Russia seem to be just a tripartite political game, but in fact the internal involvement is complex. Ukraine, Poland, NATO and other countries are like chess pieces in the hands of the United States. Their joining is just to increase the bargaining chips for US negotiations and take the opportunity to fight a pressure war against the Russian government.
The allies on the left of Russia include Germany, France and a series of European countries. The gap between the two sides is not big in terms of overall strength. The US government is more accustomed to bullying the weak in military terms. When facing a military power like Russia and Germany, the US government also needs some thoughts to start a war rashly.
and the fundamental purpose of sanctioning Nord Stream 2 is to compete with Russia for the European natural gas market. This is Trump's way of doing business.
Nord Stream Lines 1 and 2 provide only about 30% of the demand each year, and half of the market share is waiting for the United States to compete for.
and EU countries decided to build liquefied natural gas acceptance stations in Croatia and Poland and other countries on January 4, 2019 to expand the US share of the European natural gas market. LNG receiving stations in Greece,
Greece, Spain and other countries are also under construction and are expected to be completed and used in 2022. Germany has also invested 1 billion euros to establish two ports to accept American natural gas.
and the above shows that some European countries have gradually eased the situation of Nord Stream Line 2 by expanding the US natural gas output. Although Russia's pipeline line will affect the United States to a certain extent, its impact will not be too strong.
Because the United States is not a country that relies on natural gas as its main economy, and some EU countries will not allow a single dominant situation to occur in the European market.
Although energy in the future mainly depends on natural gas, the impact of natural gas on the political situation is far from reaching the height of oil. Oil can easily cause drastic changes in the Middle East, but no country will fight for natural gas resources.
Natural gas will not easily become the focus of geopolitics, so for the natural gas market, the United States is just a business to compete for. The most important thing is that after Trump stepped down, the new US President Biden rejected the public opinion and announced on May 25, 2021 that he would give up the sanctions policy on companies participating in the Nord Stream Line 2 project.
Biden believes that sanctions against Russia will make the United States increasingly alienate the relationship between the United States and Europe, so the possibility that Nord Stream 2 will eventually develop into a "line of war" is already slim.
In June this year, the first pipeline of Nord Stream Line 2 has been laid, and the Russian company has also been prepared to export natural gas to Europe. The second pipeline of the project is also being actively laid, and Russia finally won the geopolitical game. The completion of the
project does not mean that it is put into production and use smoothly. In the implementation and use of Nord Stream 2, it also depends on how Germany handles the relationship between European countries and the United States.
If Germany can reach a clear agreement with the United States, then the problem of Nord Stream Line 2 will be considered ultimately stable.
According to media reports on July 28, 99% of the construction work has been completed, and it may be completed by the end of August and will be put into use by the end of this year.
The current situation is very good for Russia and Germany. The opening of large-scale trade exchanges between countries is conducive to the mutual exchange between the two sides and the ultimate win-win situation of cooperation. However, the United States' final attitude towards Nord Stream 2 is still unknown, after all, the United States is a capricious country.
