The Wall Street Journal reported that American investor Stephen P. Lynch - who has spent decades doing business in Moscow - is said to have asked US officials to allow him to bid for Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if it is auctioned in a Swiss bankruptcy court.
Lynch discussed with US Senators, Treasury Department officials and state officials the possibility of the US owning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline - a gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the United States and Europe to control Europe's energy supply throughout the remaining fossil fuel era," Lynch told the Wall Street Journal.
Businessman Lynch - who lives in South Florida and supports President-elect Donald Trump - believes that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is very likely to be reached during Mr. Trump's second term. This suggests that the flow of Russian gas to Germany could be restarted once again.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Lynch had applied for a license from the US Treasury Department in February - according to a letter written by his lawyers at WilmerHale. The license would allow Lynch to negotiate the acquisition of Nord Stream 2 AG - the Swiss-based operator of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Nord Stream 2 AG was sanctioned by the US after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out.
The letter said that in June, a Swiss court extended Nord Stream 2 AG's bankruptcy proceedings until January 2025. If the company fails to restructure its debt by then - which is unlikely - it will face bankruptcy.
Lynch argues that once the Russia-Ukraine conflict ends, both Russia and its former customers in Germany and Europe will be eager to launch the pipeline, regardless of who owns it.
Lynch believes he can buy the Nord Stream 2 pipeline at a very cheap price. The pipeline was once valued at around $11 billion. He said many investors will not bid because of the complicated geopolitical situation related to the pipeline. Participants could include representatives of Russia, Chinese entities or other sides that disagree with the US.
"The Biden administration and the Trump administration could both agree on this issue," said Lee Wolosky, a former special adviser to President Biden and Lynch's friend. Wolosky said that Lynch is an American investor with 2 decades of experience in Moscow and has worked with Russian oil and gas company Rosnef, making him a good fit to lead this effort.
The construction of Nord Stream 2 was completed at the end of 2021. However, the gas pipeline with a designed capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year has not been put into operation, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022 and the project operator did not have time to ask for permission from the German government. Berlin has suspended the procedure.
On September 26, 2022, a series of explosions occurred on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea, and the culprit behind the Nord Stream sabotage is still unknown. However, one of the two branches of Nord Stream 2 was not affected.
