Nord Stream 2 agrees debt restructuring deal, court says

BERLIN (Reuters) -A court in Switzerland said on Friday that Nord Stream 2, part of Russian gas company Gazprom, has reached a debt restructuring agreement with its creditors.

The court had set a deadline of May 9 for Switzerland-based Nord Stream 2 to both restructure its debts and pay back small-scale creditors. The court had said it could declare Nord Stream 2 bankrupt if this condition was not met.

The $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline to carry Russian gas to Europe was completed in 2021 but was never commissioned as relations with Moscow broke down ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Europe slashed its imports of Russian gas following Moscow's invasion and Gazprom posted a $7 billion loss the following year.

The court in Zug in Switzerland said the decision could still be appealed. It declined to give further details on the debt or the creditors.

Gazprom did not reply to a request for comment.

The Nord Stream pipeline system is made up of two double pipelines across the Baltic Sea to Germany and was the biggest route for Russian gas to enter Europe. It was capable of delivering 110 billion cubic metres of gas a year.

But in September 2022, one of the two lines of Nord Stream 2 was damaged by mysterious blasts, along with both lines of Nord Stream 1.

U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for peace in Ukraine, raising the prospects of a thaw in gas ties.

Officials from Washington and Moscow have held discussions about the U.S. helping to revive Russian gas sales to the continent, eight sources familiar with the talks have told Reuters.

But Brussels wants to ban new Russian gas deals by the end of 2025 and ban imports under existing deals by the end of 2027.

The plan, to be debated next month, would require approval from the European Parliament and a majority of member states.

Hungary and Slovakia have expressed their opposition to the move.

(Writing by Miranda Murray and Nina Chestney; editing by Matthias Williams and Jane Merriman)