Shell may have to write off up to $1 billion that it has invested in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine increased the likelihood that it may never be allowed to start up, analysts have warned.
The oil major has bankrolled 10 per cent of the cost of constructing the 750-mile pipeline under the Baltic Sea, which is designed to double the flow of gas from Russia directly to Germany.
The project, owned by Gazprom, the Russian state gas giant, has long been opposed by America on security grounds. Construction was completed in September, but it has not gained approval from Germany to start up.
Berlin had supported the project for years, but on Tuesday the German government said that…