Approval is still pending: According to Gazprom, Nord Stream 2 is ready to go

Approval is still pending
Nord Stream 2 is ready to go, according to Gazprom

Germany’s gas storage facilities are half empty, while energy prices continue to rise. The Russian company Gazprom is now declaring that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea is filled and ready for operation. And President Putin is giving Europeans hope for cheaper gas.

The so far not certified gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 is ready to go, according to the Russian energy giant Gazprom. The second line is completely filled with technical gas, said CEO Alexej Miller of the Interfax agency. The procedure was concluded at noon.

“This new line will certainly help to stabilize prices in the European market,” said President Vladimir Putin, referring to high gas prices. As soon as Germany opens operations, more gas will flow to Europe – and that will lower prices on the European spot market.

Gas deliveries for the Russian market would have priority, Putin said. “But Russia has the opportunity to increase its gas exports.” According to Miller, gas storage facilities in Europe are 44 percent full, and in Germany 47 percent. Gazprom has not been pumping gas through the Russian-European Yamal pipeline, which runs through Belarus and Poland, for days.

Russia is expecting an operating permit

Nord Stream 2 is supposed to bring gas from Russia to Germany bypassing Ukraine. The Baltic Sea pipeline was completed weeks ago, but is not yet operational. Russia expects an operating permit within the next six months

According to the deadlines known to him, the process for the certification of the tubes should be completed in the first half of the year, said the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Nowak, who is responsible for energy issues, of the Russian newspaper “RBK”. “We believe that this project cannot fail,” said Nowak. It was built in accordance with all legal requirements. “There was a lot of resistance.”

The project is controversial. The US government criticizes that Europe is making itself too dependent on Russia for its energy supply. The financially weak Ukraine is urgently dependent on the billions in revenue from the transit fees for gas transit and now fears high losses.

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