The Nord Stream pipeline is an entirely new route for the export of Russian gas to Europe with the target markets of Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, France, Denmark and some other countries.
The new pipeline aims to meet the increasing demand for natural gas in Europe. Import of gas by countries in the European Union is projected to grow by about 200 billion cubic metres, or more than 50%, in the next ten years. By directly linking the world's largest gas reserves located in Russia and the European gas transportation system, the Nord Stream is expected to meet about 25% of the increase in the EU's demand for imported gas. The absence of transit countries along the route may bring down the cost of gas transportation and preclude political risks. The Nord Stream pipeline will ensure maximum reliability of gas supplies to Western Europe.
The Nord Stream pipeline will be laid along the coast of the Baltic Sea beginning from a point near the Russian city of Vyborg to a point in the vicinity of the German city of Greifswald. The pipeline will be about 1,200 kilometres long. The launch of the first leg, which can carry 27.5 billion cubic metres of gas a year, is scheduled for 2011. The construction of the second leg, planned to be completed by 2012, will boost gas supplies to 55 billion cubic metres a year.
The Nord Stream project is being implemented by the joint venture Nord Stream AG which was established for the purpose of planning, building and subsequently operating the offshore gas pipeline.
On September 8, 2005, Russia's Gazprom and Germany's BASF AG and E.ON AG signed an agreement on the basic principles of the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Under the agreement the partners set up a joint venture, Nord Stream AG.
In June 2010, France's GDF Suez, one of the world's leading energy companies, joined the Nord Stream project. Now that GDF Suez is a member of the consortium, the Nord Stream project has shareholders from Germany, Holland and France, which together account for about 40% of the European Union's annual gas consumption.
At present, stakes in the project are distributed as follows: Gazprom holds a 51% stake in the joint venture's capital; BASF SE/Wintershall Holding GmbH and E.ON Ruhrgas AG own a 15.5% stake each; and N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, a Dutch gas infrastructure company, and GDF Suez S.A. hold a 9% stake each.
The construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline began in Sweden's exclusive economic zone in early April 2010. Three pipe-laying ships have been simultaneously laying pipes. The ships Castoro 6 and Castoro 10 owned by Saipem, and the world's biggest pipe-laying vessel Solitaire owned by Allseas, are working along different sections of the route.
In the Russian section, the pipe-laying ship Castoro 6 has already laid both pipelines as far as 7.5 kilometres off the coast and at present is laying pipes eastwards in Finnish waters. Simultaneously, the Castoro 10, a vessel designed to operate in shallow waters, is laying pipes in the shallow waters of Greifswald Bay in Germany.
On September 1, the Solitaire began work in the Gulf of Finland 7.5 kilometres off the Russian coast in the area of Portovaya Bay near the city of Vyborg and now is laying pipes towards Finnish waters as far as the 300-kilometre mark. In January 2011, the vessel will move to the 350-kilometre mark and will begin laying pipes in the opposite direction as far as the 300-kilometer mark. From May until September 2011, the Solitaire will lay the parallel part of the second leg.
Thus far, more than a quarter of the first leg has been built. The Castoro 6 laid more than 300 kilometres of pipes and the Castoro 10 more than 40 kilometres of pipes. The Solitaire placed more than 30 kilometres of the first leg on the sea floor in Russian waters. Coastal intersections were built at Portovaya Bay near Vyborg in Russia and near Greifswald in Germany.
All in all, the three pipe-laying vessels laid more than 7 kilometres of the pipeline by September 6, setting a record for the Nord Stream project and accomplishing something rare for the construction of offshore gas pipelines with a diameter of 48 inches.