Baltic Sea gas pipeline partners withdraw merger bid in Poland

Russian energy giant Gazprom and its European partners on Friday announced their withdrawal of an application for merger clearance in Poland, as they vowed the project to build a pipeline under the Baltic Sea would continue as planned.

Gazprom, Anglo-Dutch group Shell, Austrian OMV and German Uniper and Wintershall plan to build a pipeline formally known as Nord Stream 2, which aims to increase gas delivery capacity to Germany from Russia bypassing Ukraine.

In July, Poland's anti-trust authority said that it objected to a planned merger, as it could lead to unfair competition while unduly strengthening Gazprom, which already plays a "leading role" in gas delivery to the central European nation.

"The signatories of the Nord Stream 2 AG shareholders' agreement have today withdrawn their application for a merger clearance proceeding in Poland," read the Nord Stream 2 partners' statement. 

"This decision does not affect implementation of the project, which continues as planned."