A well-connected US oil industry insider Stephen Lynch whose past ties include work with Russias state-run Rosneft is making moves to purchase the Swiss-based operator of Nord Stream 2 pipeline system. The deal would put him in charge of the non-working Russia-to-Germany gas route (which hasnt been active since early-22)
The ex-Moscow based businessmanʼs plan focuses on getting the controversial pipeline back to work — but theres a big catch: it can only happen after peace comes to Ukraine. His proposal‚ outlined in documents sent to US Treasury shows a clear road-map: acquire the operating company first; wait for conflict resolution; restart gas deliveries
The timing of Lynchʼs bid is interesting because it comes at a moment when Europe still needs to figure out its long-term energy setup. The double pipeline system under Baltic Sea could move lots of natural gas — about 55 billion cubic meters yearly‚ making it a big-time infrastructure asset that just sits there doing nothing right now
The whole thing raises many questions: how would European partners react; what about current sanctions rules; and most importantly - would Germany want to restart its energy ties with Russia after everything thats happened. But Lynch seems ready to bet on future changes in the political climate