Russia is Preparing to Restore the Nord Stream Gas Pipeline, IStories Source Reports
Here are three signs of such preparation
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IStories has noticed several indirect signs that Russia is preparing to restore the Nord Stream pipelines. And although experts are still skeptical about such a possibility, this is indicated, in particular, by the activity of a company that previously processed pipes for these pipelines — it may be linked to Arkady Rotenberg and former top managers of Gazprom, who are now suspected of siphoning off its assets to the tune of 150 billion rubles.
Context
Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 are the longest offshore gas pipelines in the world. They could transport up to 110 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Europe (for comparison, in 2024, Russia delivered only about 31 billion cubic meters to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline).
Two strings of Nord Stream 1 became operational in 2011 and 2012. The construction of two strings of Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021, but this pipeline never started operating due to international sanctions. And after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, three of the four strings were blown up as a result of sabotage. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ukraine was involved.
In September 2024, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson stated that the EU’s dependence on Russian gas had decreased from 45% in 2021 to 15% in 2023 and that Europe could completely abandon it, at least — completely stop its transit through Ukraine (transit ceased from January 2025). But Central European countries are not ready for a total rejection. The most dependent in this regard are Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia.
The main problem for Europe is not that it might freeze in winter without Russian gas (this is unlikely). It’s the increase in gas prices, which makes European manufacturers less competitive compared to Chinese and American ones. The EU had to postpone Russian fuel phase-out until 2027. But in any case, there was no talk of resuming Nord Stream.
Signs
The situation changed after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. The first reports about discussions on restoring Nord Stream 2 appeared in early March of this year. According to the German newspaper Bild, Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell held secret talks in Switzerland about launching the pipeline. It was allegedly about the Americans potentially mediating the supply of Russian gas to Germany. The special envoy himself denied the talks. Financial Times sources also reported on American interest in restarting the pipelines.
IStories has uncovered further indications that the Russian side may be hoping for a restart of the Nord Stream project.
The first sign — the Russian company Pipeline Coatings and Technologies, which was involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2 (engaged in concreting pipes for laying on the seabed), has apparently begun preparing for a large order. According to a source close to Gazprom’s management who spoke to IStories, the company has started actively buying up patents for technical solutions that were used in the preparation of pipes for these pipelines.
“The pipe concreting technology itself is Western. But there are many nuances for which patents were registered in Russia. Previously, they were registered to various specialists, but now the company has started actively buying them up, as it wants to be ready for a potential order and doesn’t want to pay third parties if this order materializes,” says the IStories source.
Pipeline Coatings and Technologies may be connected to Gazprom’s management and Vladimir Putin’s longtime friend Arkady Rotenberg. The lion’s share of Pipeline Coatings and Technologies (89.55%) is packaged in the closed-end mutual investment fund VerCon, managed by Gamma Group Management Company.
It also manages a stake in the Center for Industrial Supply and Procurement (CPSIK), which supplies equipment to Gazprom. Vedomosti wrote about CPSIK’s connection to the Rotenbergs.
Previously, this stake in Pipeline Coatings and Technologies was managed by Mercury Capital Trust Management Company. This is the management company against which the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office recently filed claims as part of a case involving the withdrawal of 150 billion rubles from Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat. According to the agency, the withdrawal of funds was carried out by former Gazprom top manager Alexei Mityushov and former Gazprom board member Kirill Seleznev (RBC linked Mercury Capital Trust Management Company to Seleznev’s classmate, Mityushov, back in 2019).
An IStories source close to Gazprom’s management also believes that the Pipeline Coatings and Technologies is linked to Gazprom employees. Its CEO, Andrey Ryndovsky, heads a structure that belonged to Gazprom Stroytek Salavat (Salavatstroytek). Three of the five seats on the board of directors of Pipeline Coatings and Technologies, at least as of 2021 and early 2022, were held by senior employees of Salavatstroytek, which was part of the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat industrial complex.
The second sign is the activity of the pipe association. Pipe Producers Association, as stated on its website, promotes the implementation of Gazprom’s programs to provide it with domestically produced pipes. Within the framework of the association, Gazprom employees negotiate with pipe manufacturers on exactly what products (down to the technical characteristics of the pipe) and in what volumes the gas concern is counting on and what it may need in the future.
According to a source from IStories close to Gazprom’s management, the latest meetings of the association discussed, among other things, pipes for laying on the seabed. Although “with Gazprom’s current situation, such activity of the association is not required — there are no large-scale projects that require pipes with such technical characteristics,” he notes.
“Gazprom currently has no major projects related to laying pipes on the seabed,” confirms oil and gas market expert Mikhail Krutikhin.
The third sign is conservation. In January 2025, the Nord Stream 2 AG gas pipeline operator, two years after the sabotage, received permission from the Danish Energy Agency to carry out conservation work on the damaged Nord Stream 2. Formally, we are talking about carrying out work to pump seawater out of the damaged pipes of the gas pipeline and install plugs on them. Potentially, this could speed up and facilitate restoration. However, the agency itself explained this decision as a concern for the environment.
“For more than two years, the blown-up section of the Nord Streams did not prompt the Danish authorities to take any action. And then the company Nord Stream 2 [the pipeline operator, a Swiss subsidiary of Gazprom], which is facing bankruptcy, seeks and receives permission to carry out work,” the IStories source wonders.
The Pipe Producers Association and the Pipeline Coatings and Technologies company did not respond to questions from IStories.
Previously, the German investigative media outlet Correctiv, with the participation of IStories, found out that the authorities of Germany, Russia, and the USA are discussing the resumption of oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline to Germany. For this purpose, the Americans will buy out Rosneft’s share in the PCK oil refinery, which, before the full-scale war in Ukraine, was supplied with raw materials from Russia via Druzhba. Read more about this here.