WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on one Russian vessel and two Russian individuals involved in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Friday.

       The move comes as U.S. President Joe Biden separately issued an executive order on Friday allowing for sanctions to be imposed with respect to certain Russian energy export pipelines.

       The $11 billion pipeline project, which would double Nord Stream's capacity to ship Russian Arctic natural gas to Germany, is almost complete with only 9 miles (15 km) left to construct, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

       Biden has opposed the pipeline, like the previous two U.S. presidents, because it would avoid Ukraine, likely depriving it of lucrative gas transit fees and potentially undermining its struggle against Russian aggression.

       But in May the U.S. State Department waived other sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, the company behind the project, and its chief executive, Matthias Warning, a Putin ally.

       (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Susan Heavey and Tim Ahmann; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Chris Reese)