abce certificate
Sunday, 12 October, 2008, 12:20 GMT | more prices >>

Delays hit Nord Stream plans



By Upstream staff 

Russia's Gazprom will postpone the start-up of the €5 billion ($7.23 billion) Nord Stream pipeline by several months as it faces delays in clearing the project with all the countries involved, according to local media reports.

The news, published by Russia's Interfax news agency, came as Dutch gas player Gasunie signed a deal to join the consortium behind the pipeline, which will ship Russian gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany and onward to the rest of Europe.

Interfax quoted Nord Stream's technical director, Sergei Serdyukov, as saying the start of construction of the subsea link had been delayed by six months to July 2009, while first deliveries had been postponed by two months to 30 November 2010.

He said some countries in the Baltic region had delayed clearance of the project. He did not specify which countries.

Gazprom has previously said the Nord Stream group was struggling to get permission from German officials to build an onshore section in Germany, which would ship Russian gas to the continent when it arrives by the underwater pipeline.

Apart from Gazprom, the Nord Stream group includes Germany's BASF and E.ON.

Gazprom has said problems with German officials emerged amid a debate in the European Union about whether to allow major energy suppliers to control distribution assets in the EU.

Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Sweden have also raised ecological and other concerns about the project, which is set to further deepen Europe's heavy dependance on Russian gas.

In Poland, prime minister in-waiting Donald Tusk said today Germany and Russia might soon abandon their plan for the pipeline to run under the Baltic.

"This initiative, this project, has not been prepared well," Reuters quoted Tusk, who is due to be nominated prime minister this week, as saying at a news conference.

"I hope and I hear some signals that in the nearest future the sponsors of the project would be ready to seriously correct it," he added, without elaborating.

Poland fears the pipeline bypassing its territory would enable Russia to cut of crucial gas supplies to the country while continuing to deliver to western Europe.

Meanwhile, the deal between Gasunie and the project leader Gazprom was signed during talks between Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Gasunie will invest €750 million in the project.

Gazprom holds 51% of the project, while BASF and E.ON hold minority stakes.


Tuesday, 06 November, 2007, 12:29 GMT  | last updated: Tuesday, 06 November, 2007, 15:51 GMT

In the pipeline: work has already started on the Russian portion of the pipe
 

e-mail this article to a colleague


to email:  from:
comments: