Russia completes Nord Stream 2 construction, gas flows yet to start

MOSCOW: Gazprom said on Friday it had finished construction of the Nord Stream 2 subsea pipeline to Germany, allowing Russia to potentially double lucrative gas exports to Europe via the Baltic Sea while bypassing and cutting off a source of income for political foe Ukraine.

Although gas flows have yet to be cleared by German regulators, the completion of the construction stage means Russia has successfully boosted its 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.

“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.

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 U.S. president Donald Trump imposed sanctions on it.

The construction restarted around a year later with the engagement of Russia’s own vessels.

The route, jointly with the existing Nord Stream pipeline, will double the annual export capacity to 110 billion cubic metres, around half of Russia’s total gas exports to Europe a year.

The project has drawn criticism from the United States and Ukraine among others. Washington says it will increase Europe’s reliance on Russian energy supplies, while it is seeking to boost its own sales of sea-borne liquefied natural gas to Europe.

The United States has called its super-chilled gas exports to Europe a way to spread “molecules of freedom” across the Atlantic.

Gazprom is Europe’s largest supplier of natural gas, accounting for more than a third of the region’s gas market.

Russia said on Thursday pumping commercial gas supplies via Nord Stream 2 would not start until a German regulator gives the green light.