Nord Stream 2 pipeline is finally complete, says Gazprom

Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom has said it is on the verge of being able to start the flow of natural gas through the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline after the final piece of pipe was welded into place last week.

The $11 billion project, which has suffered numerous setbacks and delays following US sanctions, will allow Gazprom to pump 55 billion cubic metres of natural gas across the Baltic Sea each year, bypassing Ukraine. The pipeline has caused alarm in Kyiv, as the country could potentially lose billions of dollars in gas transit fees.

Critics of the pipeline say that it will make Europe more dependent on Russian gas, which already accounts for over a third of demand.

Read more: Political Pipe Dreams

In a statement, Gazprom said that the "Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been fully completed",m though it will still require technical testing and certification, which industry experts say usually takes a couple of months.

While the company refused to be drawn on any timeframe for the first gas to begin flowing, CEO Alexei Miller said last week that gas could be sent "by the end of the year and during this heating season".

President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told the press that it was in "everyone's" shared interest that the pipeline be certified "as soon as possible". He added that it was not yet known when gas supplies would begin following the completion of "remaining formalities".

Ukraine, along with neighbour Poland, has pledged to challenge the pipeline's adherence to EU energy market rules which state that there must be a separation of production, transit and supply. The challenge could be a headache for Gazprom, potentially even forcing it to "unbundle" the pipeline, thus losing its controlling stake.

"We hope... as we provide necessary arguments in Berlin and Brussels, that NS2 AG should not be certified as operator of the NS2 [pipeline] under current circumstances,” Yuriy Vitrenko, chief executive of Ukraine’s state gas company Naftogaz, told the Financial Times.

Read more: Ukraine fears Russia may weaponise Nord Stream 2 in latest talks

The US has vehemently opposed the pipeline, and it is one of the few areas over which President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump found common ground. After years of sanctions on the project, the US reached a truce with Germany that would oblige Berlin to impose sanctions on Russia if the pipeline is used as a weapon against Ukraine or other allies.

Russia has come under fire lately for sending less gas to mainland Europe than it did in previous years, with storage levels below normal in the run up to the winter months.

Gas prices across the continent have rocketed in recent weeks to record levels due to tight supplies in the global market. Some industry watchers have even warned that it may be necessary for some energy-intensive industries to restrict production should this winter be very cold. 

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