Nord Stream 2, an expansion of the existing Nord Stream pipeline, will supply gas sourced from Russia to approximately 26 million European households annually

Image: 1,855km of Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been laid in the Baltic Sea. Photo: courtesy of Nord Stream 2 / Axel Schmidt.

Gazprom’s subsidiary Nord Stream 2 said that it has completed 75% of the €8bn (£7.23bn) Nord Stream pipeline expansion project in the Baltic Sea.

The company said that 1,855km of the underwater export pipeline project has been laid in Russian, Finnish, Swedish and German waters of the Baltic Sea. In April 2019, the company completed the installation of 1,000km of pipes of the project.

Comprising two offshore export gas pipelines, each of 1,230km length, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project will have a capacity to transport 55 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia to the European Union. The pipeline project is scheduled to be commissioned this year.

The Gazprom subsidiary had already completed laying of pipes in German and Finnish waters. Currently, pipe-laying work is underway in Russian waters.

The company said that pipes used for the twin pipeline system have concrete weight coated. The last pipes were loaded out to pipelay vessels in Hanko in Finland and Karlshamn in Sweden this summer. On the other hand, storage and logistics are going on in the German and Finnish hubs – Mukran and Kotka, respectively, said Nord Stream 2.

Once commissioned, the Nord Stream pipeline expansion project will deliver natural gas sourced from the Bovanenkovo gas field in the Yamal Peninsula in Russia to various regions across Europe. The transported gas will be enough to supply close to 26 million European households for nearly 50 years, thereby contributing to the energy security of the continent.

Stakeholders of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project

The pipeline project is majority-owned by Gazprom. The other stakeholders in the underwater export pipeline project are BASF/Wintershall, Engie, E.On, OMV, and Shell.

Last month, Nord Stream 2 filed a case against the European Union (EU) in the Court of Justice of the EU challenging an amendment in the latter’s EU Gas Directive.

In this connection, the Gazprom subsidiary appealed to the top court of the EU to quash Directive (EU) 2019/692 amending the gas directive arguing that it violates the EU law principles of equal treatment and proportionality.