First pipes for Nord Stream 2 have arrived on the island of Rugen
A permit for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has not yet been obtained, but the implementation of the project is continuing. On Thursday, October 27, the first pipes for the proposed 1,200-km-long gas pipeline arrived from Russia on the island of Rügen in Germany, DPA agency reported. There they will be stored at a special plant and covered with concrete for future pipe-laying.
At the end of 2019, Nord Stream 2 will begin operation of the gas pipeline, the cost of which is now estimated at EUR 8 billion. According to plans, both lines of Nord Stream 2 will be laid nearly parallel with the first part of the Nord Stream gas pipeline on the bottom of the Baltic Sea and will end in German Lubmin.
Gazprom’s intentions to lay Nord Stream 2 have given rise to debates in the European Union, largely due to concerns that it will increase Europe’s dependency on Russian gas. Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic States are against the project, stating that it threatens their security.
The capacity of Nord Stream 2 must be identical to the first lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, and will amount to 110 billion cubic meters of gas annually. Fuel through this gas pipeline has been delivered to Europe for five years, and Russia has exported about 145 billion cubic meters of gas through it.
According to its own data, Gazprom exported 159 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe in 2015, and exports are expected to increase this year.