Germany Buys Tubes Left After Construction Of Nord Stream 2 For Over $75Mln - Reports

The German government paid around 70 million euros ($76 million) to buy the pipelines that have been left unused after the construction of Nord Stream 2 from its operator, Nord Stream AG, Business Insider reported on Tuesday, citing sources

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th May, 2023) The German government paid around 70 million Euros ($76 million) to buy the pipelines that have been left unused after the construction of Nord Stream 2 from its operator, Nord Stream AG, business Insider reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

As many as 3,000 pipes were purchased from Nord Stream AG earlier in spring, the outlet said. It added that the deal was a "delicate" issue since Russia's energy giant Gazprom is a majority shareholder in the company and the German government had to clarify all sanctions-related legal matters before buying the tubes.

The purchased pipes will be used to connect a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal off Ruegen Island with the existing pipeline infrastructure in the German city of Lubmin, Business Insider stated.

Earlier in the year, Bloomberg reported that the German Economy Ministry announced the purchase of tubes that once belonged to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for the construction of an LNG terminal in the Baltic Sea.

The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, were hit by explosions last September and rendered partially dysfunctional, with the incident still under investigation by Denmark, Germany and Sweden, as well as separately by Russia.

Russia considers the explosions at the two pipelines an act of international terrorism. There are no official results of the investigation yet, but Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report in February 2023 alleging that the explosions had been organized by the United States with the support of Norway. At the same time, The New York Times reported in March, citing intelligence, that a "pro-Ukrainian group" might be involved in the Nord Stream incidents.