The tender award for the second 1,220km gas pipeline from Vyborg in Russia to Lubmin in Germany secures timely delivery of the pipes in line with the logistic requirements of the Nord Stream project. The decision was taken by the shareholder’s committee following thorough evaluation of bids from German, Japanese and Russian companies.
Henning Kothe, project director at Nord Stream, said: “We are happy to have Europipe and OMK, the suppliers of the first pipeline, as well as Sumitomo, a newcomer to our project, on board. With EUR1bn, the total volume of the contracts is below the price level of the first line and reflects the current market development where competition has increased and more capacity is available.”
The tender for line two was completely independent of the 2007 tender of the first line. The procurement of the steel pipes for the second line was the last decision regarding the requirements for the project and for the overall budget. With the contracts for the second line, which are expected to be signed within the next weeks, Nord Stream secures the pipes at the current price level. The delivery of the pipes for the second pipeline is scheduled to start in May 2010.
The construction of the first line of the Nord Stream Pipeline is scheduled to commence on April 1, 2010; construction of line two is planned to start in spring 2011. Nord Stream received permits for its project by the states whose waters it crosses (Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany) towards the end of 2009.
