Efforts to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2, an undersea gas pipeline from Russia to Germany that would give Moscow enormous leverage over Europe, have long drawn bipartisan support on Capitol Hill,

The operator Nord Stream 2 AG continues the necessary technical preparations for the pipeline ahead of its launch.

The Bundesnetzagentur on Nov. 16 suspended the procedure to certify Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent transmission operator while the company transferred assets to the German subsidiary to take over the application.

Derivatives linked to TTF, Europe’s wholesale gas price, soared as high as €131 per megawatt hour

The U.S. and some European opponents of Nord Stream 2 say it will make Europe too reliant on Russian gas, allowing Moscow to expand its political, economic and military influence. But other governments say it is vital to secure energy supplies, as gas prices surge and the threat of power outages looms.

The regulator said a new subsidiary of Nord Stream 2 AG announced by the operator would need to submit a new application for certification.

Russia has said that Nord Stream 2 is ready to begin commercial operations pending regulatory approval and that gas flows through the pipeline would help ease the current high European gas prices, which remain at sustained highs on winter supply concerns.

Gas prices in Ukraine began to climb in April this year, and in August and September they soared to record levels

The UK does not support Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project to Germany

On Sept. 6, Gazprom said that pipelaying work on the project had been completed and commercial operations are expected to begin before the end of 2021. Nord Stream 2 includes two strings of 27.5 Bcm.

"This means that the Nord Stream 2 gas connection pipeline is subject to German regulation by the Federal Network Agency

Germany and the US agreed on July 21 a number of measures to protect Ukraine's energy security and block any attempts by Russia to use energy as a "weapon" once the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline starts up.

Naftogaz also wants to force Russia to allow other Russian producers to be able to export pipeline gas via Ukraine to Europe.

US President Joe Biden entered the White House with the pipeline already nearly finished, leaving him with the decision of upsetting Germany or giving a win to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian oil imports as a share of US total oil imports hit a record high of 8% in January 2021, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration, up from 4% during 2018.