United States Wants To Collaborate With Gazprom In The Arctic

Moscow and Washington are currently in talks over the possibility of future cooperation with Gazprom on international projects, including in the Arctic region, according to Bloomberg, citing Russian and European officials. The news comes as the United States seeks to normalize relations with Russia and gain access to the economically important region.

The Arctic has drawn increasing global attention due to its vast untapped energy and mineral resources, as well as its strategic trade routes. Russia has been developing its Northern Sea Route, the shortest shipping route between Western Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific, running through its Arctic and Far East regions. The route has been extensively modernized over the past years, with investment also from India and China, which hold stakes in several Arctic energy projects.

Gazprom could offer the US involvement in ventures in the Arctic region and some offshore projects such as the Sakhalin liquefied natural gas project if sanctions restricting foreign investment are overturned. Talks between US and Russian representatives on potential collaboration with Gazprom are at the stage of “preliminary contacts.” It is currently unclear who is leading the reported discussions or whether officials from the administration of US President Donald Trump are directly involved.

US-Gazprom cooperation could involve joint projects in Europe and Asia, several sources said, adding that it could be part of Washington’s broader push to weaken Russia’s ties to China and Iran. Bloomberg noted that the step could also promote business opportunities following a peace deal to end the Ukraine conflict, which Trump sees as a top priority.

Earlier this week, German news outlet Correctiv reported, citing its own investigation, that Russia and the US were negotiating a major deal that would allow the resumption of Russian energy exports. The months-long discussions could reportedly involve US companies buying parts of the Nord Stream pipeline infrastructure and stakes in three German refineries owned by a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Rosneft.

Neither the Kremlin nor the White House has officially commented on the reports. President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia could resume gas exports to Europe through the undersea pipeline once Moscow and Washington reach an agreement on energy cooperation.

‘Nord Stream’ is an underwater gas trunk line running from Russia to Germany, from where it could be transported to Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, France and other countries via two branch pipelines (OPAL and NEL). It consists of two phases – Nord Stream -1 and Nord Stream 2. In September 2022, both branches were destroyed by explosives at the bottom of the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on 30 September that the explosion was a sabotage aimed at destroying the pan-European energy infrastructure.