Oct 7 (Reuters) - Poland has fined Russia's Gazprom
more than $7.6 billion for building the Nord Stream 2
gas pipeline without Warsaw's approval, its watchdog said on
Wednesday.
Russia's bid to double its gas export capacity across the
Baltic Sea has prompted opposition, including U.S. sanctions,
stalling completion of the $11 billion pipeline.
In addition to Europe's increased reliance on Russian gas,
opponents are wary of Moscow's motives as the pipeline will
allow it to curb gas transit via Ukraine, cutting off a source
of revenue for Kiev.
Below is a timeline of Nord Stream 2's development:
2011
November: The Nord Stream 1 twin pipeline across the Baltic
Sea opens between Russia and Germany with a capacity of 55
billion cubic metres (bcm), or enough to heat 26 million homes.
Gazprom and Western partners start looking double the
project at an estimated cost of 9.5 billion euros ($11.3
billion).
2015
June: Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell, E.ON,
OMV, BASF and ENGIE agree to
build Nord Stream 2.
2016
March: Eight EU governments - the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia -
object to the project, saying it would have "potentially
destabilising geopolitical consequences".
2017
April: Nord Stream 2 AG signs financing agreements with
ENGIE, OMV, Shell, E.ON offshoot Uniper, and BASF's
subsidiary Wintershall [https://reut.rs/2FgjZZZ
]
2018
January: Germany grants Nord Stream 2 a permit for
construction and operation in German waters and landfall areas
near Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
September: pipe-laying operations start in the Baltic Sea
2019
January - U.S. ambassador to Germany warns companies
involved in the construction could face sanctions [https://bit.ly/2FhqaN3
]
December - Swiss-Dutch company Allseas suspends its
pipe-laying activities in anticipation of U.S. President Donald
Trump signing a bill which includes sanctions on firms involved.
The group behind Nord Stream 2 says it aims to complete the
pipeline, despite the U.S. sanctions threat.
Trump signs the bill.
2020
January: Russian President Vladimir Putin says he hopes the
pipeline will be finished by the end of Q1 2021. German
Chancellor Angela Merkel says she believes the project is
legitimate under European regulations and should therefore be
completed.
May: Germany's energy regulator declines to grant a waiver
to operators of the pipeline of EU directives that require
separate operators for production, transport and distribution of
energy on German territory.
An EU court rejects a challenge to EU gas rules from the
operators of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines,
saying it was up to individual members states to enforce them.
August: Poland fines Gazprom 213 million zloty ($57 million)
for a lack of cooperation with the country's anti-monopoly
office regarding Nord Stream 2.
September 3: Pressure mounts on Merkel to reconsider the
pipeline, after she says Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was
poisoned with a Soviet-style nerve agent.
September 11: The premier of the German state of
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where Nord Stream 2 would come ashore,
says the pipeline should not be used to punish Moscow over the
Navalny case. Merkel wants to agree a response with EU
partners.
October 1: Denmark grants a permit for Nord Stream 2 to
operate in its waters.
October 7: Poland fines Gazprom more than $7.6 billion for
building the pipeline without approval from its anti-monopoly
watchdog.
($1 = 0.8424 euros)
(Reporting by Tommy Lund and Bartosz Dabrowski in Gdansk;
editing by Jason Neely and Barbara Lewis)
