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WARSAW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Poland's anti-monopoly watchdog
said on Wednesday it had fined Russia's Gazprom more
than 29 billion zlotys ($7.6 billion) for building the Nord
Stream 2 gas pipeline without its approval.
The UOKiK watchdog also said it had imposed a 234 million
zloty fine on five other firms involved in financing $11 billion
project set to double Russia's gas export capacity via the
Baltic Sea.
Nord Stream 2 is led by Gazprom, with half of the funding
provided by Germany's Uniper and BASF's
Wintershall unit, Anglo-Dutch company Shell, Austria's
OMV and Engie.
Poland sees Nord Stream 2 as a threat to Europe's energy
security as it will increase reliance on Russian energy.
The United States has also imposed sanctions on companies
laying pipes for the project.
UOKiK has been examining the project for years. In August it
fined Gazprom 213 million zlotys over a lack of cooperation
regarding the project.
"The launch of NS2 will threaten the continuity of natural
gas supplies to Poland. An increase in the price of the product
is also highly likely, with the said increase being borne by
Polish consumers," said Tomasz Chrostny, president of UOKiK.
"Completion of this investment project increases economic
dependence on Russian gas - not only in the case of Poland, but
also of other European states," Chrostny said.
Gazprom did not reply to a request for immediate comment.
Construction of the 1,230-kilometre pipeline is nearly
finished but for a final stretch of roughly 120 km in Danish
waters.
Work was halted in December as pipe-laying company
Swiss-Dutch Allseas suspended operations because of the U.S.
sanctions targeting companies providing vessels.
($1 = 3.8107 zlotys)
(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko; Additional reporting by
Oksana Kobzeva in Moscow; editing by Jason Neely)
