The Gasunie deal, which Kommersant reports could see the Dutch player taking a 9% share in NEGP, will also see Gazprom take a share in the BBL pipeline from the Netherlands to the UK, thereby furthering Gazprom’s aims of investing in the western European downstream gas distribution sector.
The announcement came on the same day that Gazprom reaffirmed its ambitions to enter the UK market in a significant way, with a stated goal of a 20% market share in gas.
Gazprom joins major promoters Gasunie and E.ON in the BBL pipeline project that will see a new transit route constructed from Balgzand in Holland to Bacton on the east coast of England. This line could ultimately be incorporated into the Gazprom-led NEGP to provide additional import capacity for Russian gas to the UK.
