Nord Stream II, a large-scale project of Russia’s giant Gazprom, still arouses keen interest of foreign investors despite the ongoing political standoff. Amid a massive outflow of foreign capital from Russia, a mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy sector encourages investors to submit tenders for projects, in particular Nord Stream II. France’s corporation Engie announced its plan to take part in the construction of the gas pipeline. “The group Engie has shown interest in participating in this project and are ready to enter into negotiations on legally binding documents," Alexey Miller, Chairman of Gazprom Board, told Interfax about the intention of his French colleagues. Therefore, more foreign partners could be involved in this project. On June 18, 2015, Gazprom Chair Miller, Klaus Schafer from E.ON SE Board, Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Bearden, and Manfred Leitner from OMV AG Board signed a memorandum which is a steppingstone to the fruitful partnership. The document sets out domains of cooperation of all listed companies to establish an infrastructure for the direct delivery of Russian gas to European consumers. So, the French partner is likely to join Nord Stream II in the near future. Engie is the new name of GDF Suez set up by the merger of Gas de France and Suez.
