⚡Nord Stream 2 Is Quietly Making a Comeback

It's Supposed to Be Dead. So Why Is Everyone Secretly Fighting Over It?

When politicians loudly insist that something isn’t happening, it usually means it already is. The stronger the denial, the more you should assume the opposite. If their advisors, spokespeople, and media allies all hammer the same line, you’re not hearing facts. You’re hearing the narrative being managed.

Right now, we’re seeing this play out with Nord Stream 2.

AKA The Zombie Pipeline.

It was supposed to be dead. A relic of a bygone era. But despite declarations—even before its completion—that Nord Stream 2 “has no future” (as German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock put it), the pipeline refuses to stay buried. Instead, it lingers, both legally and financially.

Because nothing valuable is ever truly abandoned. Assets that seem “dead” aren’t discarded. They’re simply waiting for the right buyer or the right political moment to resurface. And right now, the battle over Nord Stream 2 is proving exactly that. Let’s dive in.

The Pipeline That Won’t Die

Nord Stream 2 wasn’t just another pipeline. It was a €10 billion megaproject, designed to double the flow of Russian natural gas into Europe. Completed in 2021, it stretched 1,230 kilometers under the Baltic Sea, directly linking Russia to Germany. For years, it was a geopolitical flashpoint, hailed as an economic necessity by Berlin and condemned as an energy weapon by Washington and Eastern Europe.

But before a single cubic meter of gas ever flowed through it, Nord Stream 2 was sabotaged. In September 2022, a series of underwater explosions ripped through the pipeline. Though the official investigation remains inconclusive, evidence strongly suggests that the attack was carried out by Ukrainian operatives.

Leaking Nord Stream 2 pipeline

The pipeline’s owner, Nord Stream 2 AG, is a Swiss-based company controlled by Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom, along with five European investors, including Germany’s now state-owned Uniper, which sank nearly €1 billion into the project.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Nord Stream 2 AG filed for bankruptcy, and its future should have been simple: liquidation, debt repayments, and closure. But that hasn’t happened yet. In January 2025, a Swiss court in Zug made a surprising decision: it extended the company’s insolvency proceedings until May 9, 2025—citing “complex geopolitical circumstances” and Germany’s upcoming elections.

In other words, once liquidation is set in motion, the pipeline will be open to the highest bidder. But the court just put that on hold. For good reason, it seems. Nord Stream 2 is suddenly attracting a lot of attention. Too much, in fact, for a simple liquidation. The court knows this isn’t just about money.

Why Is Everyone Fighting Over It?

One of the first to circle was Stephen P. Lynch, a U.S. investor with two decades of experience in Moscow and a knack for buying distressed assets. Last year, he floated the idea of acquiring Nord Stream 2, arguing that American ownership would give Washington leverage in any future peace deal with Russia.

Lynch sought a special license from the U.S. Treasury Department to negotiate with sanctioned entities. His pitch?

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for American and European control over European energy supply for the rest of the fossil-fuel era.

Lynch isn’t the only one eyeing Nord Stream 2. German industry is quietly discussing the pipeline’s future. According to Handelsblatt, Berlin weighs whether sections of the pipeline could be repurposed for hydrogen imports from Finland. Or even, after a peace deal, resumed Russian gas flows.

Publicly, the German government denies everything. As the Federal Ministry of Economic refutes:

The German government is not holding any discussions on this, not even with Russia. Germany is independent of Russian gas. Following Russia’s war of aggression, Germany has made enormous efforts to make its gas infrastructure more resilient and diversified. Therefore, the question of using the pipelines does not arise for us at this time.

And energy advisor to the government Jacopo Pepe insists that “the resumption of Russian gas deliveries must not be included in peace negotiations.”

Deny It Until It’s Inevitable

But here’s the thing: When powerful people loudly insist that something isn’t happening, history tells us they’re often just buying time before it does.

We’ve seen this before:

• “There will be no bailout for Wall Street” – In mid-2008, as financial markets unraveled, U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson explicitly rejected the idea of a government rescue. Weeks later, the U.S. launched the $700 billion TARP bailout—the largest financial intervention in history.

• “There is no plan to annex Crimea” – In early 2014, Russian officials repeatedly dismissed any intent to annex Crimea. A few months later, Moscow rolled tanks into the region, held a referendum under military occupation, and absorbed Crimea into Russia.

• “Nobody has any intention of building a wall” – In June 1961, East German leader Walter Ulbricht flatly denied that the GDR would close its border with West Berlin. Two months later, barbed wire and concrete barricades appeared overnight, and the Berlin Wall was born.

The one that got away: German soldier fleeing East Berlin in August 1961

It’s all about sequencing. Governments know that controlling public and counterparty perception is the real battlefield. By denying policies they’re actively working on, they control the narrative, buy time to solidify plans, and make it harder to stop the momentum.

Because Nord Stream 2 isn’t just a stranded asset—it’s a political pressure point. And the battle over its fate is revealing who has the most to gain, and who has the most to lose.

A Power Struggle Disguised as a Dead Asset

For Berlin, the pipeline is a political liability. The Chancellor’s Office officially wants it dead to maintain Germany’s anti-Russian stance. But the Finance Ministry sees a different reality: State-controlled Uniper has a €1 billion hole on its books. Writing off Nord Stream 2 wastes a lot of taxpayer money.

For Russia, the pipeline is a contingency plan. If a future peace deal opens the door for energy flows, Nord Stream 2 is Moscow’s easiest way back into the European market. Keeping the pipeline legally intact—even in limbo—ensures that option stays open.

For the U.S., Nord Stream 2 is a wildcard. If Lynch’s plan succeeds, Germany won’t be the one deciding the pipeline’s fate, Washington will.

The real question isn’t whether Nord Stream 2 will make a comeback—it’s who will own it when it does?

Energy is Always a Bargaining Chip

Governments often insist energy and geopolitics can be kept separate. History proves otherwise. Every major conflict of the last 50 years has, at some point, turned into an energy negotiation.

In 1973, the OPEC oil embargo shattered the illusion that Western powers could dictate the terms of global energy supply. Washington had assumed that oil would remain apolitical, until it found itself begging Saudi Arabia for relief.

Germany appears to be now making a similar mistake. Berlin officially insists that Nord Stream 2 is irrelevant and that Russian gas will never be part of a peace negotiation.

But again, the louder the denial, the more certain you can be that the opposite is true. Because the moral high ground doesn’t override brutal reality:

• LNG imports remain expensive. Germany has replaced Russian gas with liquefied natural gas, but the infrastructure costs and price volatility make it a fragile long-term strategy. And surging volumes of LNG still come from Russia, bought via intermediaries: German national energy company Sefe bought 58 cargoes of Russian LNG, through the French port of Dunkirk last year — more than six times the figure in 2023 according to the Financial Times.

Russian gas sneaking back in.

• Hydrogen isn’t scaling fast enough. Despite all the political momentum, hydrogen remains costly and inefficient as a replacement for natural gas.

• European industry needs cheap, stable energy. Without it, Germany’s industrial backbone—chemicals, steel, and manufacturing—will erode.

If the war in Ukraine ends in a stalemate or negotiated settlement, energy will be part of the deal—no matter how much Berlin publicly claims otherwise.

Ideology Loses, Leverage Wins

Moral absolutism is a luxury only the strongest can afford. The moment you enter a negotiation where everyone else is playing for leverage, and you’re playing for ideology, you’ve already lost.

The German government cannot afford to ignore this, no matter who wins the upcoming elections.

Officially, Berlin maintains its moral stance. But behind closed doors, the reality might be setting in. Germany’s struggling economy cannot afford energy dogma forever.

So Russian gas off the table? Unlikely. Russia’s arctic gas is stuck. Europe could reap the benefits of wholesale prices dropping by as much as 32%, according to 2021 estimates. The U.S. sees Nord Stream 2 as a bargaining chip.

Maybe it won’t be called Nord Stream 2. Maybe it will have a new owner, a new legal structure, or a new “strategic purpose” that makes it politically acceptable. But one thing is certain—this pipeline will not stay dead.

Because no asset of real value is ever truly discarded. When the right deal is on the table, Nord Stream 2 will be back in business. Don’t be surprised if a rebranded Nord Stream 2 quietly resumes gas flows by 2027.

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