UPDATE: Gazprom, Allseas sign letter of intent on Nord Sream-2
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MOSCOW/OULU, Finland, Dec 9 (PRIME) -- Nord Stream 2 AG, a 100% affiliate of Russian gas giant Gazprom, has signed a letter of intent with Swiss company Allseas to lay the deep-sea part of the Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2 AG said in a statement on Friday.
“The letter of intent ensures that Allseas will undertake offshore pipelay works for the first line and also provides the option to book capacities from Allseas for the second line up to the end of the first quarter of 2017. Negotiations to finalize the contract will continue within this timeline. Other tenders including the near-shore pipelay tenders in Russia and Germany are ongoing,” the company said.
Finland’s Prime Minister Juha Sipila said after a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that Finland sees the Nord Stream-2 project as commercial on the basis of its own legislation and of international regulations. “Our decisions at the national level will be made on time,” he said.
The Finnish government has already granted a conditional approval for exploration on the pipeline’s route. Still, construction of the pipeline needs more permits, including an estimation of its effect on environment, Sipila said.
Medvedev said that the project will be beneficial for all sides, including Finnish companies that may partake in construction of infrastructure. The initiative to promote the project came from the European business, and Moscow will base its decisions on international legislation and the highest possible ecologic standards, he said.
“We see the project as very important and large, but purely commercial, and it is of a huge importance for increasing reliability of gas supplies to Europe,” he said.
The Nord Stream-2 project envisages construction of two lines of a gas pipeline with an annual capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters, running from the Russian shore to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Currently, Gazprom holds 100% in the project’s company Nord Stream 2 AG, and the agreement envisaged Gazprom transferring 10% stakes in the company to Uniper, Wintershall, Shell, OMV, and Engie.
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