The Nord Stream 2 project was intended to bring natural gas from Russia to Germany.
The highly indebted Russian pipeline operator Nord Stream 2 can continue for now to search for a new investor to save it from bankruptcy, a court in Switzerland ruled on Friday.
The court in Zug, where Nord Stream 2 is based, granted temporary permission to allow for the company, which is owned by Russia’s state-owned Gazprom, to be restructured. Without this, the firm would have entered into bankruptcy procedures.
Major creditors, including Western European energy companies ENGIE, OMV, Shell, Uniper and Wintershall, reached an agreement on the settlement on April 30, according to the court. However, since the decision can be appealed, the court declined to provide further details.
Major creditors are believed to have accepted significant losses on their investments, which amounted to billions. Negotiations over the settlement lasted two and a half years.
The construction of the pipeline cost nearly €10 billion ($11.3 billion) and was intended to bring natural gas from Russia to Germany through two 1,200-kilometre pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
The landmark project was completed amid much fanfare, but never went into operation.
Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the German government cancelled the project, which critics saw as giving Russia too much influence over energy supplies to Europe.
One of the pipelines was damaged in a mysterious attack in 2022.
Media reports have recently speculated about the involvement of US investors in a possible deal.
Stephen P Lynch, a wealthy businessman and supporter of US President Donald Trump, has been mentioned in connection with the pipeline company.
The firm could become part of a US-Russian agreement to peacefully end the war in Ukraine, according to reports.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on state television in March that Nord Stream was “being discussed.”
By Christiane Oelrich, dpa/Credit: Sven Hoppe/dpa
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