OREANDA-NEWS. As the Danish newspaper Politiken wrote, the threat of serious US sanctions forced the consulting firm Rambøll to refuse to participate in the last part of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

According to the newspaper, "threats of targeted economic sanctions from the United States forced a large Danish firm to withdraw from the international project. Rambøll fell victim to the conflict over the costly Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, worth more than $ 70 billion Danish crowns".

Nord Stream 2 is planned as the construction of two strings of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to Europe, to Germany. The project is actively contradicted by the USA, that is trying to sell its liquefied natural gas to Europe, as well as Ukraine and some other European countries. The United States applied sanctions on the gas pipeline in December 2019, as a result of which, for example, the Swiss Allseas had to stop the construction.

In December 2020, Nord Stream 2 AG, the project operator, built one of the two unfinished sections of the pipeline in German waters with the help of the Fortuna pipelayer. Laying of the last unfinished section, in Danish waters, is planned to begin on 15 January. It was also arranged to use Fortuna on the Danish section.

However, on January 1, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of the FY2021 defense budget, overcoming President Donald Trump's veto of the law. The defense budget, in particular, provides for the expansion of sanctions against Nord Stream 2. The document extends them to organizations that have provided services for testing, inspection or certification. As a result, the Norwegian company DNV GL, in particular, has already announced that it will cease all activities related to the inspection of the gas pipeline and will not be able to certify it.