MOSCOW: Gazprom said on Friday it had finished construction of the Nord Stream 2 subsea pipeline to Germany, completing Moscow’s project to increase its gas export capability and bypass Ukraine, but flows have yet to be cleared by regulators.
The much-politicised pipeline will double Russia’s gas exporting capacity to Europe via the Baltic Sea and will allow Moscow to circumvent its political foe Ukraine as a major route for its lucrative gas exports to Europe.
“The head of the management board, Alexei Miller, told the morning meeting at Gazprom that the construction of Nord Stream 2 was fully completed today in the morning at 0845 Moscow time,” Gazprom said.
By constructing the pipeline, Russia has completed its plans to boost energy exporting capabilities towards Europe, both from the north in the Baltic Sea and from the south in the Black Sea, where it operates the TurkStream pipeline.
Gazprom started construction of the 1,200-km long Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany five years ago. Progress of the $11 billion project stalled at the end of 2019 when then US president Donald Trump imposed sanctions on it.
The construction restarted around a year later with the engagement of Russia’s own vessels.
— Reuters
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