The measures target Russia's defense, intelligence, mining, shipping and railway industries, and restrict dealings with Russian banks and energy companies.
“We do not want to speculate on possible effect of the recent US legislation. Shell in committed to act in accordance with its contractual obligations and in full compliance with applicable sanctions and trade control requirements. We cannot comment further,” the company said when asked whether the sanctions would force Shell to stop financing Nord Stream 2.
The bill, which is yet to be approved by the administration of US President Donald Trump, has already prompted criticism within the European Union. Thus, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern have condemned the draft of new US sanctions, which, they said on June 15, were about "selling American liquefied natural gas and ending the supply of Russian natural gas to the European market."
The Nord Stream 2 project presumes the construction of two gas pipelines with a combined annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas. The new pipeline is planned to be laid along the existing Nord Stream pipeline route from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea, on to a hub in Germany.
