Nord Stream AG, the operator of the Nord Stream pipeline project intended to deliver Russian natural gas to Europe bypassing transit countries, has completed laying the pipeline’s second leg early, the company said on Wednesday.
“The Nord Stream Project took another major step forward today with the completion of offshore pipelay of the second of its twin 1,224-kilometre gas pipelines through the Baltic Sea ahead of schedule,” the operator said in a statement.
Line 2 is scheduled to begin transporting gas towards the end of 2012 as part of a fully automated twin-pipeline gas transport system capable of transporting 55 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia to the European Union, for at least 50 years, Nord Stream said.
The first leg of the pipeline, which connects Russia and Germany along the Baltic Sea bed and has an annual capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters of gas, was launched in November 2011.
The pipeline’s core shareholders include Gazprom with 51 percent, Germany’s Wintershall Holding and E.ON Ruhrgas (15.5 percent each), France's GDF Suez and the Netherlands' Gasunie (9 percent each).