(Adds detail, comments)
MOSCOW, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is
asking the U.S. Congress not to enact sanctions against the
Russia-led Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline to Germany, said
Cederic Cremers, head of Shell's business in Russia.
A U.S. Senate committee passed a bill in July to place
sanctions on companies and individuals involved in building the
Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
The Donald Trump administration says the project would
strengthen Moscow's economic grip on Europe.
"If the current legislation under consideration in the U.S.
Congress is passed, it will affect all of the companies involved
with the project, including Shell. We therefore respectfully
urge lawmakers not to enact these sanctions," Shell's Cremers
said in emailed comments.
Russian gas producer Gazprom leads the project
while other participants, who provide financial support, include
Shell, Germany's Uniper and Wintershall, Austria's OMV
and France's Engie.
OMV has also publicly voiced its support for Nord Stream 2.
The project will double the annual capacity of the existing
Nord Stream pipeline to 110 billion cubic metres and account for
more than half of Russia's piped gas exports to Europe, allowing
it to bypass Ukraine, currently its main transit route.
In the wake of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea its
relations with Ukraine have soured and the European Commission
has stepped up calls for member states to reduce their reliance
on Russian energy imports.
The project faces legal challenges from Europe, which is
changing its energy rules, including regulation of Nord Stream
2.
"European domestic gas production continues to decline, and
Europe will soon need additional gas supplies both in the form
of LNG and pipeline gas," Cremers said in explaining Shell's
support for Nord Stream 2.
"At Shell we believe in the future of gas for Europe and
that progressive use of natural gas can contribute significantly
to the reduction of CO2 emissions," he said.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Katya Golubkova
and Jason Neely)
