OGZPY - Zurich Insurance reportedly to exit Nord Stream 2 project

Zurich Insurance will drop out of the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 project in the face of looming U.S. sanctions against European companies that support construction of the gas pipeline, Reuters reports.Zurich, which has a big U.S. business, is one of ~20 insurers in a consortium backing the $11B project.Nord Stream 2 is led by Russian state energy company Gazprom (OGZPY) and partners Royal Dutch Shell ([[RDS.A]], [[RDS.B]]), BASF's Wintershall (BASFY), Uniper (UNPPY), OMV (OMVJF) and Engie (ENGIY).The Nord Stream 2 consortium says preparatory work to complete the Russia-to-Germany pipeline in Danish waters can proceed, pointing to the latest notifications by the Danish Maritime Authority.But Germany's Handelsblatt reports the NS2 group has delayed completion work, linking the move to enhanced U.S. sanctions pressure aimed at stopping the project.The consortium reportedly has yet to lay more than 100 km of pipeline with capacity of 55B cm/year, although more than 90% of the project

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Zurich Insurance reportedly to exit Nord Stream 2 project