Poland’s UOKiK anti-monopoly watchdog said it had fined Russia’s state-owned firm Gazprom over PLN29bn ($7.6bn) for building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline without its approval.
The UOKiK also said it had imposed a PLN234m ($61.3m) fine on five other companies involved in funding the $11bn project, which is set to double Russia’s gas export capacity via the Baltic Sea, Reuters reported.
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Gazprom serves as the owner of the pipeline through its wholly-owned subsidiary Nord Stream 2.
The five companies that provided half of the funding for the project include German firm Uniper and BASF’s Wintershall unit, Austria’s OMV, Royal Dutch Shell, and Engie.
Nord Stream 2 is a 1,200km-long natural gas pipeline being constructed to connect Europe to the world’s largest reserves in Northern Russia.
The news agency quoted UOKiK president Tomasz Chrostny as stating: “The launch of NS2 will threaten the continuity of natural gas supplies to Poland. An increase in the price of the product is also highly likely, with the said increase being borne by Polish consumers.
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By GlobalData“Completion of this investment project increases economic dependence on Russian gas, not only in the case of Poland, but also of other European states.”
Construction of the 1,230km pipeline is almost complete except for a final stretch of about 120km in the Danish waters.
In December, work was halted as pipe-laying firm Allseas suspended operations because of ‘US sanctions targeting companies providing vessels’.
