Nord Stream 2 AG, the operator of the Russian-German gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, announced on Wednesday that it was ready to start supplying gas.
However, the German energy regulator BNetzA announced in early December that the Nord Stream 2 certification process could continue until the second half of next year.
“The gas injection procedure for the second phase of Nord Stream 2 has been completed on 29 December. This pressure is sufficient to start transporting gas in the future,” says Nord Stream 2 AG.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also confirmed on Wednesday that Russia is ready to start transporting gas through Nord Stream 2 as soon as the German authorities give permission.
Construction of Nord Stream 2 was completed in September, but BNetzA suspended certification of the project in Germany in November, stating that the project must comply with German law in order to complete its certification.
The construction of the ten-billion-euro Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has been delayed for years, has raised concerns that Western Europe’s dependence on Russian gas could increase and that Moscow could increase pressure on Ukraine as it became less dependent on gas transit supplies through Ukraine.
The pipeline under the Baltic Sea will allow Germany, Europe’s largest economy, to double its natural gas supplies from Russia. Germany insists it needs cheap Russian natural gas to give up coal and nuclear power.
It is estimated that 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be supplied to Russia from Russia every year.
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