Why is Ukraine afraid of Nord Stream 2?

(Baonghean.vn) -The construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline could cause huge losses for Ukraine as the country will lose a large amount of revenue from the transit of Russian gas to Europe - an article in Forbes magazine commented.

The Nord Stream 2 gas project is increasingly causing concern in Ukraine. Photo: Ria Novosti

According to the researchers, revenues from gas transit to Europe account for 10% of Ukraine’s budget. “The disappearance of this source of income would have a major impact on the Ukrainian economy,” the article said.

The threat has become more apparent as Russian gas giant Gazprom insists on building the Nord Stream 2 project despite opposition from Eastern European countries such as Poland and the Baltic states, who say the project will undermine Europe’s energy security and make the EU more dependent on Russian energy. “If this pipeline is built, Russia will definitely not need our pipeline,” said Andrew Koboleva, head of Ukraine’s Naftogaz energy company.

US State Department Special Representative for Energy Amos Hochstein said“"When you take $2 billion out of the Ukrainian economy at a time when the international community is trying to provide economic support to Kiev, there is no way to fix this. The Ukrainian economy will collapse."

To “soften” the situation, Western European energy corporations still believe that the Ukrainian pipeline is necessary to ensure the delivery of Russian gas to Northern Europe. While in Southern Europe, the Turkish stream plays a similar role. When Nord Stream 2 is built parallel to Nord Stream 1, the number of pipelines will double. It is hoped that Ukraine will continue to maintain the role of “transporter”.

“Nord Stream 2” is a joint project between Russia and Germany to build two branches of the gas pipeline from Russia running through the Baltic Sea to Germany without passing through Ukraine with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters/year. This project is worth about 10 billion Euros.

The partners signing this contract with Russia are a series of Western European energy corporations such as the New European Pipeline AG joint venture, E.ON, Shell, OMV and BASF/Wintershall, ENGIE corporations.

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(According to Ria Novosti).