A United States investor has asked the US government for permission to buy the decommissioned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if it is put up for auction, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Financier Stephen Lynch had applied to the US government for permission to bid on the pipeline should it be auctioned in a Swiss bankruptcy proceeding, the Wall Street Journal reported.
American ownership of the pipeline would provide leverage in peace negotiations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and serve US long-term interests, Lynch told the newspaper.
“The bottom line is this: This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for American and European control over European energy supply for the rest of the fossil-fuel era,” Lynch told the Wall Street Journal.
He would need approval from Washington for dealings with companies that are subject to US sanctions.
The Nord Stream 2 operator is a subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned energy firm Gazprom.
In September 2022, several explosions damaged and interrupted the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines.
While Nord Stream 1 was carrying Russian gas to Germany, Nord Stream 2 had never entered operation due to Russia’s war against Ukraine and the resulting political debates.