(Adds recent developments)
July 22 (Reuters) - As the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline nears
completion, Germany has reached an agreement with the United
States that it will respond to any attempt by Russia to use
energy as a weapon against Ukraine or other countries in the
region.
The pact aims to mitigate what critics see as the strategic
dangers of the $11 billion pipeline, now 98% complete, being
built under the Baltic Sea to carry gas directly from Russia's
Arctic region to Germany.
U.S. officials have long opposed the pipeline, which doubles
the capacity of the existing Nord Stream 1 (NS 1) link. But
President Joe Biden's administration has chosen not to try to
kill it with U.S. sanctions, instead persuading Berlin to agree
to imposing costs on Moscow if it seeks to use the pipeline to
harm Ukraine.
The United States fears NS 2 increases Europe's reliance on
Russian energy, while supporters of the pipeline say Washington
is seeking to increase its own liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales
to the continent.
Here are some significant moments in Nord Stream 2's
development:
2011
November: Gazprom and Western partners look into
expanding the pipeline system by a further 55 billion cubic
metres at an estimated cost of 9.5 euros ($11.3 billion).
2015
June: Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell, E.ON,
OMV, Wintershall and ENGIE agree
to build the pipeline.
2016
March: Eight EU governments object, citing geopolitical
reasons.
2017
April: Financing agreements are signed.
2018
January: Germany grants permits for construction and
operation.
2019
January: The U.S. ambassador to Germany says companies could
face sanctions.
December: Swiss-Dutch company Allseas suspends pipe-laying.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs a defence policy bill
including sanctions.
2020
January: Russia targets a start in first quarter 2021.
May: Germany's energy regulator declines to grant a waiver
of EU gas directives to the operators.
May: An EU court throws out a challenge to EU gas rules from
the operators of NS 1 and NS 2.
Sept. 3: Pressure mounts on Berlin to reconsider support
after the alleged nerve agent attack on Kremlin critic Alexei
Navalny.
Sept. 15: Data shows a Russian ship sailed for the supply
base in Germany.
Sept. 23: The world's largest group of shipping insurers
says it will not insure vessels involved in NS 2.
Oct. 1: Denmark gives NS 2 permission to operate in Danish
waters.
Oct. 7: Poland fines Gazprom more than 29 billion zlotys,
having launched proceedings in June.
Nov. 4: Gazprom appeals in a Polish court against the fine.
Nov. 28: NS 2 says it plans to resume finishing a 2.6 km
stretch in German waters.
Dec. 3: The United States unveils a bill targeting companies
and individuals helping NS 2.
Dec. 11: NS 2 says the vessel Fortuna has resumed work.
Dec. 22: The Danish Maritime Authority issues notification
of pipe-laying works from Jan. 15.
Dec. 24: The Kremlin says new U.S. sanctions could
complicate the completion.
Dec. 28: NS 2 says it has completed the 2.6 km section in
German waters.
2021
Jan 6: The northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
decides to set up a foundation to help the completion of NS 2.
Jan 13: The U.S. State Department warns European companies
of sanctions.
Jan 14-15: NS 2 says pipe-laying will resume in Germany on
Jan. 15.
Uniper and Wintershall Dea say they did not receive any
threats.
Jan 20: Trump on his last full day in office imposes
sanctions on Fortuna.
Gazprom successfully places an 8-year Eurobond worth $2
billion suggesting investors see limited risks.
German environmental groups file complaints with maritime
regulator BSH, effectively preventing further work in Germany
for now.
Jan. 21: The European parliament passes a resolution calling
for a stop to NS 2 completion in response to the arrest of
Navalny in Russia.
Jan. 24: Fortuna resumes work in Danish waters.
Feb 5: Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany is sticking
with its support for the pipeline "for the time being", after
condemning Russia's expulsion of diplomats from Sweden, Germany
and Poland.
April 22: The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee
advances a bill to pressure companies helping to build NS 2.
April 27: Russian vessel Akademik Cherskiy starts laying
pipes for the project in Danish waters.
May 19: The U.S. State Department waives sanctions around
participants of Nord Stream 2, saying it was in the U.S.
national interest.
May 25: Merkel says she expects further discussions with the
United States on the Nord Stream 2 project.
June 1: The Kremlin says Moscow welcomes the United States'
decision to refrain from sanctioning the pipeline, adding Russia
does not plan to stop sending gas via Ukraine.
June 4: President Vladimir Putin tells an economic forum
that Russia has finished laying the first line of the pipeline
to Germany.
June 7: Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the
completion of Nord Stream 2 is a "fait accompli", defending the
U.S. decision to waive some sanctions and vowing a response if
Moscow tries to use gas as a weapon.
June 10: Nord Stream 2 says the project will start
preparations on June 11 to fill the first of two pipelines with
natural gas within a few months.
June 25: German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier says he had
a productive meeting with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer
Granholm, and both countries were committed to resolving the
dispute over Nord Stream 2 by the end of August.
July 15: Biden and Merkel fail to settle their dispute over
Nord Stream 2 pipeline but say they agreed Moscow must not be
allowed to use energy as a weapon to coerce its neighbors.
July 22: The United States and Germany announce an agreement
on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under which Berlin pledged to
respond to any attempt by Russia to use energy as a weapon
against Ukraine and other Central and Eastern European
countries.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund and Bartosz Dabrowski in Gdansk
Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Milla Nissi and Gareth Jones)
