Pipelines as Faultlines: Sovereignty, security of supply and national security, with Nord Stream II as a case-study

With “energy security” paramount to national security, the cross pollination of energy law and national security is ubiquitous and disputes between countries over security of energy supply and access to fuels are common. Often the most visible are those over construction of oil and gas pipelines as vehicles by which countries can secure their energy supply or extend their geopolitical influence.  Stopping pipelines, in turn, is frequently the best way for countries in opposition to advance their own national security ambitions. The legal developments in furtherance of these disputes are discrete, creative, and generate a new body of law unique to the context of petroleum pipelines, and even sometimes to specific pipelines, but sounding in national security. As with most legal innovations, these may set precedent and spawn myriad unintended consequences, in turn establishing a progression of legal developments that build upon each other. This thesis will explore this progressive body of energy law in the context of pipeline disputes, including how governments have manipulated energy law to achieve desired outcomes—whether in promotion of or opposition to a pipeline—and what energy law manipulations have been effective. After analyzing the legal aspects of several pipeline battles, the multidementional legal fight over the Nord Stream II pipeline project will be analyzed as a case study; it constitutes the legal culmination and amalgamation of many prior pipeline disputes and has certainly set precedents. This study places the Nord Stream II legal innovations in their historical-legal context. Conclusions are drawn about the efficacy of legal innovations in energy law to advance national security objectives.