As it became known at the beginning of this week, the Russian Gazprom, despite all the difficulties and roughness that inevitably accompanied the launch of any large-scale project, has already delivered the first billion cubic meters of gas through the Turkish Stream pipeline. In particular (we quote the official press service of the domestic gas giant), "about 54% of this volume was delivered to the Turkish gas market, about 46% - to the Turkish-Bulgarian border." And now it’s already obvious to everyone: the “Turkish stream”, whose pipe-laying vessels, fortunately, did not manage to fall under US sanctions “for third countries”, operates in a fully working, planned, so to speak, mode. And it has just become a system part of the energy map of the European subcontinent.
As you know, the situation with the completion of Nord Stream-2 by the Swiss pipelayers Pioneering Spirit and Solitaire of AllSeas, who managed to leave the offshore construction site under external pressure even before the announcement of the deadlines for the start of US restrictions, initially did not look so joyful. At least if you observe it somewhat from the side. What is surprising: the representatives of the Russian company themselves only mysteriously smiled and kept ice calm.
As it turns out, there was, in principle, why.
No, the fact that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be completed at some reasonable time, no one had any doubts from the very beginning, and not because the Russian President Putin said this not so long ago. The fact is that Nord Stream 2 has long been not so much a Russian as a European energy project, and its construction is obviously a bigger question of the responsibility of Gazprom’s European partners, even from a financial point of view. And if the European energy concerns and their national governments cannot protect not only their considerable, in general, investments in Nord Stream 2, but also the future European energy security in general (and Nord Stream 2 in this system is critically important), then, sorry, the penny will be such "partners". And to deal with them is an occupation, maybe fascinating, but rather meaningless: the deeper you go in, the cheaper they will sell it later.
To the credit of European structures, both in the field of energy and in government bodies, no one left the Nord Stream 2 project.
And Germany even separately harshly declared its position: trying, of course, not to damage its relations with the United States.
Which, of course, is a worthy task, but unrealizable. However, it is not for us to judge: their position on Nord Stream 2 was important to us - we got it.
And already in the very next few days, as soon as the weather permits, the domestic Fortuna and Defender pipe-laying barges will be ready to start import-substituting work in the Baltic. At least, if you believe the "information from the field", they were made ready as early as January 27 and, judging by the meteorological forecast, they will start work immediately starting next week, possibly even from February 1.
What is important to understand here.
Of course, the plans of the Russian-European consortium, which is informally developing around the upcoming Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, were pretty badly violated by the latest events, it’s just stupid to deny it.
And the head of the board of OMV Rainer Seele, a member of this “consortium”, did not just say that Europe does not do enough for its own energy security and does little to help Russia, not too rigidly declaring its position with regard to US actions. And here it’s a sin not to quote the head of the largest oil and gas company not only in Austria, but in the whole of Eastern Europe: “The situation with Nord Stream 2 is disturbing on my part. How can it happen that you invest billions of euros in a project that is legally approved by all parties, and then this project is suspended due to extraterritorial sanctions that are imposed unilaterally without consultation even with the EU? ”
But the most interesting thing here is not even this. The most interesting thing here is that, despite the general unpleasantness of the situation, the least that is called “burns by the deadlines” in this case, oddly enough, is just the case with the Russian side.
And here we, of course, should say absolutely sincere “thank you” to Ukraine, even “non-brotherly” in relation to us: these valiant guys at first took so long and tedious time that Gazprom and its European partners, fearing the disruption of “Ukrainian transit” , literally tightly gasified all European underground gas storage facilities. And then the Ukrainian managers also signed a trilateral agreement on such favorable conditions for the Russian side that we are now provided with complete freedom of maneuver for at least the next five years.
And when the Gazprom barges go to lay the remaining 80 kilometers of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline (especially if Gazprom has a much more modern “apparatus”, which is actually similar to the Swiss “deserters”, who are now just “a little busy” on Sakhalin ), this means only one thing: it’s just “Gazprom” just so profitable at the moment.
And if his European partners on this issue so far simply grumble at the Americans and the fate of the villain, but behave passively and themselves do not offer any solutions, then they will lay barges.
Any questions or suggestions? ..
In the end, the site is not the longest in comparison with the already constructed one: experts say that by August, in principle, even with this antiques, the work in the Baltic will still be successfully completed. And, as the president of the Russian Federation promised, gas will most likely go through it by the end of this year.
That is, over Gazprom in this sense it is not a caplet at all.
And if his European partners “want to accelerate a little”, as Rainer Seele clearly hints at, the Russian side will be ready to listen to the proposals. Keeping the same strategic calm.
And so, what seems to be really new in this situation in Russian economic policy, at least at the tactical level, is that she’s absolutely not ready to drag chestnuts from someone else’s fire for partner benefit. As well as "make certain concessions" in the abstract humanitarian interests. Including, for example, “pulling” a pipe-layer no less needed at present in Sakhalin to speed up work in the Baltic.
Excuse me, why?
In general, everything suits us. The agreement on "Ukrainian transit" gives a perfectly sane temporary "lag."
And where to drive the horses?
And I admit that I unexpectedly really like this trend towards the predominance in the minds of people in state and near-state structures that make such important long-term strategic decisions, of a certain calm economic egoism directly to the author of these lines. And he sincerely hopes that this is not a random temporary fluctuation, but a real and long-term trend.
The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.