Nord Stream 2 AG, the Swiss-based operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, said in a court hearing on its debt moratorium in early January that selling the pipeline would help the company repay its smaller creditors. It also said that selling the Nord Stream 2 pipeline or restructuring it was necessary to meet the demands of major investors.
The information was released by the Zug cantonal court in Switzerland. The court document said that major shareholders of the Nord Stream 2 project as well as major financial investors supported the extension of the payment period to the operator Nord Stream 2 AG. The immediate bankruptcy of Nord Stream 2 AG would cause the value of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to drop significantly, causing serious consequences for small creditors.
"Bankruptcy would push some small creditors to the brink of death and deprive large creditors of huge amounts of money. However, extending the payment period beyond the legally prescribed limit would help small creditors survive, ensuring that they are paid in full, while the claims of large creditors could be largely or completely satisfied through the sale of the pipeline or corporate restructuring," Nord Stream 2 AG argued in the court ruling.
Nord Stream 2 AG's latest bankruptcy moratorium has been extended until May 9, 2025. The company is obliged to pay all minor creditors within 60 days of receiving the court judgment, or it will be declared bankrupt.
On January 9, the Swiss cantonal court of Zug announced that the final bankruptcy moratorium of Nord Stream 2 AG was extended until May 9, 2025.
"The final debt moratorium period of Nord Stream 2 AG has been exceptionally extended until 9.5.2025 by decision of the Zug State Court EN 2022 2, dated 9.1.2025," the court stated.
According to this order, Nord Stream 2 AG is obliged to repay the full amount to all minor creditors within 60 days of receiving this decision and to send the relevant payment receipts to the Zug State Court.
If the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline operator fails to comply with this deadline, the company will be declared bankrupt without any extension being set.
Transliq AG will continue to act as interim administrator of Nord Stream 2 AG. According to Eadaily, during the December 2024 court hearing, a representative of Transliq AG noted that the future of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be decided together with the main creditors, Germany's Uniper, Wintershall, Austria's OMV, Britain's Shell and France's Engie.
In other developments related to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, on January 28, 2025, the Danish Energy Agency granted Nord Stream 2 AG a permit to carry out certain activities at the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline facility in the Baltic Sea. Authorized repair activities on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline are expected to begin in the next 2-3 months.
In September 2022, one of the two branches of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea was damaged in a series of mysterious explosions, along with both Nord Stream branches. The damaged branch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline still had about 9-10 million cubic meters of gas, while the intact branch was still full of gas.
