How is Nord Stream progressing and when will construction be finished? Nord Stream aims to fill the EU’s increasing needs for natural gas and we are planning the first gas deliveries for late 2011. Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany have all granted permits to construct the 1,224 km pipeline through their waters and over 220 km of pipeline have already been laid. Construction is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2011 and will be followed by stringent safety checks. We plan to begin operating the second pipeline in 2012.
What volume of gas does Nord Stream expect to convey and approximately how much will construction cost? In 2012, Nord Stream’s annual volume of natural gas transit will reach 55 bcm. Contracts have already been signed with DONG Energy A/S (Denmark), E.ON Ruhrgas AG (Germany), GDF Suez S.A. (France), OAO Gazprom Marketing & Trading (UK) and WINGAS GmbH (Germany). Capital expenditure (CAPEX) for the Nord Stream project is 7.4 billion euros, which includes the two pipeline strings’ construction costs as well. Pipes, various pipeline materials, pipe-laying work, concrete coatings and logistics incur the highest costs. Nord Stream also invested about 100 million euros in environmental studies and the resulting route planning.
How was the environmental impact of the pipeline evaluated and can you guarantee Nord Stream’s safety? Nord Stream researched and planned its route carefully, based on evaluations of environmental, technical and economic factors. Related activities include more than 40,000 line kms of seabed surveys; field investigations such as sampling of water, seabed sediments, plankton, macrozoobenthos; surveys of marine mammals and birds; computer modelling of sediment spreading and sedimentation. The pipeline was designed to optimise the route while minimising its environmental impact. A number of reputable international suppliers were involved in the process, including Marin Mätteknik AB (Sweden), DOF (Norway), FUGRO OSAE (Germany) and Petergaz (Russia) and the IfAÖ (Germany) and Saipem Energy Services S.p.A. (Italy).
Offshore pipelines have proven their reliability by supplying natural gas to Europe for over 30 years. The European Union receives 45% of its natural gas imports using pipeline technology. Safety standards are implemented through meticulous engineering and planning, use of state-of-the-art equipment and highquality materials, implementation of a quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) system and careful monitoring of construction and operation.
What are the advantages of Nord Stream for European countries? In order to secure additional natural gas imports in the coming decades, it is essential that the EU strengthen its mutually beneficial relationship with Russia, the world’s largest gas producer. Natural gas is an environmentally friendly fossil fuel with the lowest emission values and is increasingly important in the energy mix. Gas imports to the European Union reached 312 billion cubic metres in 2007 and are projected to increase to 516 billion cubic metres by 2030. By connecting some of the world’s largest gas reserves to the European pipeline network, Nord Stream will provide about 25% of the projected demand and supply energy to more than 26 million European users.
Why did Nord Stream choose to establish its headquarters in Switzerland? It was important that Nord Stream neither select a location in any of the countries along the pipeline route nor in a country where one of its shareholders is headquartered. Switzerland’s internationally recognised legal system, modern infrastructure and central European location made it a logical choice. Zug has long been a preferred location for international business and hence experts in a variety of fields were easier to recruit there.
