(Bloomberg) --

European natural gas futures jumped to a three-week high on concerns about Russia’s supply given a potential delay to its controversial new pipeline to Europe.

The German regulator said Tuesday it suspended the certification procedure for the Nord Stream 2 project because of a change in legal form at its operating company. Nord Stream 2 AG decided to establish a subsidiary to become the owner and operator of the German section of the pipeline, so the permitting process is being suspended until after the main assets and human resources are transferred to the subsidiary.

The news adds to bullish developments in the energy-hungry market, with many in Europe expecting Russia to significantly increase its supplies to the region through the pipeline. 

Dutch month-ahead gas, the European benchmark, surged as much as 12% before trading 11% higher at 88.82 euros a megawatt-hour at 11:04 a.m. in Amsterdam.

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