In this file photo taken on Sept 07, 2020 a road sign directs traffic towards the Nord Stream 2 gas line landfall facility entrance in Lubmin, north eastern Germany. (ODD ANDERSEN / AFP)
Germany's energy regulator said the Nord Stream 2 pipeline must show it would not break competition rules by limiting which suppliers use it, and could face a fine if it started pumping Russian gas to Germany without securing the necessary approvals.
Bundesnetzagentur, or BNetzA, the regulation authority for gas in Germany, said it had asked the pipeline operator, Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 AG, to show it was meeting all regulatory requirements before the pipeline entered into service.
"This relates in particular to issues of nondiscriminatory network access and the integration of the interconnector into the German market area," said BNetzA, referring to rules that include ensuring that the operator did not restrict access to other gas suppliers.
Nord Stream 2, a project led by Russian gas giant Gazprom, will pump the fuel under the Baltic and bypassing Ukraine, which is embroiled in a long-running territorial dispute with Moscow.
Construction is completed and tests are underway, but the project has faced opposition from the United States and some European nations that said it will make Europe too reliant on Russian gas, which accounts for about a third of European needs.
Opponents also said Russia has applied pressure to try to speed up the German approval process by not supplying extra gas to Europe when the region faces an energy crunch, as global gas demand surges and prices hit record levels.
However, the Kremlin said it has been meeting its obligations.
BNetzA, which said in September it had four months to complete the certification, said it could not rule out that Nord Stream 2 operations could start soon, adding that all technical requirements had been met.
But it said the operator could be fined if it started before it secured the necessary certification, which will only be given if regulatory requirements are met too.
A spokesperson for the German government said successful completion of the certification procedure was a prerequisite for the commercial commissioning of the pipeline.
The Court of Dusseldorf earlier had dismissed a complaint from Nord Stream 2 AG and did not grant an exemption for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from the revised EU gas directive.
The company filed an appeal against the decision to the Supreme Federal Court of Germany on Tuesday.
Analysts said Nord Stream 2 was unlikely to significantly ease gas prices that threaten to translate into hefty bills for European consumers this winter.
Gazprom, Europe's largest supplier of natural gas, has said it could pump 5.6 billion cubic meters of gas via Nord Stream 2 by year-end.
According to data from the International Currency Exchange, the gas price in Europe broke the record again, reaching $1,300 per 1,000 cubic meters during Tuesday's trade.
Reuters contributed to this story.
