Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s team might have found a diplomatic avenue to block a major energy pipeline from Russia to western Europe, according to a senior State Department official.

U.S. diplomats are working with European allies, particularly in Denmark, to prevent the construction of Nord Stream 2, a major project by a state-run Russian energy company designed to deliver natural gas to Germany. The pipeline project has set off alarm bells throughout Europe and the United States, as officials worry about European dependence on Russian energy. But, Germany favors the deal, complicating Western efforts to block the project.