We must pay tribute, the company - the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 AG not only refused to comment on the impact of the claim of the German environmental organization “Union for the Protection of Nature” on the course of the pipeline laying.

But in general, she reacted to what was happening with indifference worthy of respect.

The explanation is simple: there is no doubt that Nord Stream 2 AG has been ready for such demarches for a long time. They, these ecological demarches, as they say, were stupidly “put into the script”. And by the final stage of construction, the project coordinators had already become sufficiently trained and, in an amicable way, hardened, that with such small pranks - that of the green, that of the Poles with all sorts of different Balts, that of the Ukrainians (the methods of counteraction are different, the customer is still, in fact, one) - they will definitely not be intimidated.

As a result, in this particular case, the operating company simply refused to comment on "potential litigation related to government decisions."

Next time they may react differently, it all depends solely on the situation, but now spending all your time and nerves on it is a completely empty and unproductive exercise.

And in Nord Stream 2 AG, the beneficiaries are quite serious people, such worries do not suit them.

Indeed.

Yes, indeed, the claim of German environmentalists from NABU suspends the temporary permission of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the territory of the Federal Republic.

But the work can be resumed already from the end of May, when another permit comes into effect, which the "ecologists" could not challenge.

So the situation is unpleasant, of course, here who would argue.

But against the general background, it is quite bearable.

Moreover, the suspension of the temporary permit is unlikely to have any effect on the timing of the long-suffering Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. And there is no need to invent anything here: the laying of a shorter section in Germany, according to the available construction schedules, should actually begin in the waters of the Federal Republic of Germany only after the completion of work in the exclusive economic zone of Denmark, where Fortuna and Akademik Chersky are now working.

At the same time, if you have not paid attention yet, the gas pipeline builders are acting almost demonstratively unhurriedly without any current judicial and environmental procedures.

And they really have nowhere to rush.

Now let's try to explain why.

Just as an illustration that is understandable to everyone - a few words, as they say, about the current state of affairs: the price of gas in Europe at the end of April - beginning of May of the current 2021 again increased in the spot markets to an average of $ 286 per 1,000 cubic meters.

m. Thus, the price indicators have reached their maximum since the same, catastrophic for European energy, the middle of this January.

When spot markets jumped with might and main and went crazy from the rise in prices against the background of record cold weather throughout the civilized, but, as it turned out, energetically quite vulnerable European subcontinent.

But then at least everything was clear with the reasons for the unrestrained price growth: they were really abnormal cold weather.

What can be said here: at the current, so to say, operational level, the situation with price increases is just as simple, straightforward and quite easily explainable: problems with LNG supplies.

Judge for yourself.

During the last week alone, from April 26 to May 2, inclusive, the supply of liquefied natural gas to European markets decreased by about 8%.

Nothing personal, just business: the markets of Southeast Asia, imagine, also need LNG.

And they, these markets of Southeast Asia in relation to the European ones, are, as they say, premium: European buyers cannot beat Asian prices, from some level they generally become absolutely unacceptable for Europeans.

Nothing out of the ordinary: the economy of the subcontinent is just like that, spoiled by affordable pipeline gas from the Dutch Groningen, Norway, North Africa and, most importantly, Russia.

And burdened by the need to maintain high standards in labor markets, and other, both real social, and simply purely image, largely imposed programs.

To be honest, it, this European economy, is currently barely holding the price blow from the green energy sector.

At least for now, albeit with a creak, but copes.

But this green energy is so expensive for Europe that, in addition to the “wishlist” of numerous associates of the strange “project” girl Greta Thunberg, she, this very European economy, will definitely not survive the sharp rise in the price of LNG to Asian levels. And this, even being at the intellectual level of Greta, whom protest has replaced classes in a general education school, somehow every day it becomes more and more stupid and, at the same time, more and more dangerous not to understand.

Just a reminder: European UGS facilities, which were recently filled to capacity, are also pretty devastated.

Quite a lot has been written about this before, but now the situation against the background of continued increased consumption and falling LNG supplies is already, let's say, quite alarming: the volume of reserves in underground European storage facilities in April 2021 fell for the first time in the history of observations of the public base Gas Infrastructure Europe.

And this, sorry, is not a joke.

As of March 31, the occupancy rate was 30.06%, and as of April 30 - 29.91%.

Just for comparison: last April, in 2020, on the contrary, about 9 billion cubic meters of natural gas were taken into European UGS facilities.

Despite any crises.

Well, the Russian "Gazprom", seeing all this wonderful beauty, also, in general, begins to behave, shall we say, softly - not as traditionally beautiful-hearted as in those, still very recent times, when European markets were almost not in the literal sense of the word "all."

Thanks to this, by the way, not only the arrogant "civilized" countries-buyers, but also by no means pretending to something similar transit countries like the ever-memorable Ukraine could blackmail us absolutely mercilessly.

And the Ukrainian "gasmen" are also quite capable of stealing with impunity.

Now times have changed somewhat.

And now it is much more important for Europe to buy Russian pipeline gas than to sell it to Russians: and now the always pro-European head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, pensively announces to the city and the world about adjusting the strategy, albeit “small”.

But, one way or another, it is obvious that the development of domestic markets is becoming a priority for the Russian gas giant.

Moreover, both gasification of the territories (there is nothing to be done about it - the elder ordered) and internal processing: Russian gas workers, thank God, do not have such tax problems with processing as their oil colleagues do.

So why not?

Yes, now Gazprom has only two such projects: the complex in Ust-Luga and the Amur Gas Processing Plant.

But, according to Alexey Miller, these projects are already one of the largest in the world.

The domestic concern entrusted to him is just beginning to slowly get a taste.

In a word, the situation with the Nord Stream 2 project, if you look at it from the side of a Russian supplier, is quite understandable and transparent, no one is hiding anything: guys, the situation in the world, of course, has changed quite seriously, but we will fulfill our obligations and the gas pipeline to you, we will definitely complete it.

It is not even discussed.

But only with your own greens, as well as others, as President Putin said, local "tobacco", please, sort it out yourself, without our modest participation.

And with their patrons too: Russia, you know, is tired of carrying chestnuts for you from your "democratic fire" with its own hands.

After all, today it is more yours than a purely Russian project.

Even Washington understands this: here Germany, we must give it its due, coped with it.

Well, why, in such a situation, does the company - the operator of the Nord Stream 2 AG project comment on the demarche of the German environmental organization?

With this nonsense, the German authorities somehow and without comment Nord Stream 2 AG will cope.

Although it makes sense to state that in the future, despite the generally stable implementation, no one promised an easy life for this gas pipeline.

To cling to what they find.

But these are, rather, not our problems at all, if only partially.

And the rest is not even a reason for undue concern.

At least if we can impartially observe the behavior and reactions to what has been happening over the past months, namely that of the Russian side.

For the most part, it just so happens, these problems are German.

It so happened that this project is much, simply incommensurable, much more important for them.

The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.