Warsaw Unlikely to Block Nord Stream 2 as Poland's Economy Needs It

BERLIN (Sputnik) — Poland is not interested in blocking the Nord Stream 2 pipeline construction, as Warsaw has already requested annual gas deliveries in the amount of 11 billion cubic meters under the project, Ties Tiessen, a member of Germany's Wintershall board, said Thursday.

"Poland has requested 11 billion cubic meters of gas [through Nord Stream 2] it is interested to receive. So why should this project, which would give Poland gas it is interested in, be blocked by it?" Tiessen said, answering a question on Poland's stance regarding the pipeline project.

Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has already postponed proceeding of the application for an approval to establish the Nord Stream 2 AG joint venture for the project two times.

Last week, Wintershall CEO Mario Mehren said he expected to obtain the final regulatory approval from Poland in August, and further buy out its share in the venture.

Russian energy giant Gazprom and its partner companies signed a shareholders agreement on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in September 2015. The prospective shareholders are Gazprom, with 50 percent of shares, Germany's Uniper SE and BASF/Wintershall (10 percent each), Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell (10 percent), Austria's OMV AG (10 percent) and France's Engie (10 percent).

Nord Stream 2 could provide up to 55 billion cubic meters of direct gas supplies from Russian shores through the Baltic Sea, bypassing Baltic states and Poland, to the German coast.