GERMANY is planning to nationalise its section of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and transform it into a terminal for liquefied natural gas, it was reported today.

According to Der Spiegel magazine the possibility is being considered by the German Ministry of Finance.

The Russian pipeline was completed last year but has not been operational because Germany refused to approve its certification prior to the war in Ukraine. 

Development of Nord Stream 2 was bitterly opposed by the United States which had reportedly placed Germany under pressure to cancel the project. 

According to the report the federal government is exploring whether the part of the pipeline on German soil can be disconnected from the rest of the system and linked to a mobile LNG terminal. 

Germany is seeking to end its reliance on Russian oil, however a raft of sanctions has left many countries facing severe energy shortages and rising prices for consumers.

Moscow insists the reports remain hypothetical and said that it would oppose any attempts to expropriate the pipeline. 

“If there are such actions, it will be a job for lawyers to give a legal assessment to that, if that is really being discussed. But without knowing the essence of what is happening, it would be wrong to say something,” Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov told reporters. 

The European Union has vowed to stop the import of Russian oil by the end of the year, however, allowed partial exemptions for country’s including Hungary after it refused to back such a ban. 

Nord Stream 2 was seen by some critics as central to the war in Ukraine with Washington seeking to assert itself as the leading supplier of LNG.  

The pipeline would have bypassed Ukraine and meant that it would have lost out on payments associated with transiting through the country.