First Nord Stream 2 pipes laid in Germany
The first pipes have been laid as part of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project near the German coast of the Baltic Sea, reported the German company Uniper, one of the European partners of Gazprom. The project was started in late July, said Uniper’s financial director Christopher Delbruck in a presentation the company’s website.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will pass along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, for more than 1,200 kilometers and with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters. The cost of the project is € 9.5 billion. The gas pipeline should be operational before the end of 2019. The project includes construction of the gas pipeline through the territorial waters of five countries: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
Previously it was reported that the Nord Stream 2 project can continue without Denmark’s participation. An alternative route bypassing Denmark will not require additional permits and will not affect the final cost of the project.
Earlier, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Estonia in a joint statement, stated they were against the construction of the Nord Stream 2.
The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency issued a permit for construction of a 30-kilometer section of the gas pipeline.
The USA and Ukraine are actively opposing the Nord Stream 2 project.