North European gas pipeline to start operating in October 2010

North European gas pipeline to start operating in October 2010

Moscow (Platts)--21Jun2006

The Russia-Germany North European gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea is
scheduled to start delivering Russian gas to Europe via the first line in
October 2010, the project's managing director, Matthias Warnig, said
Wednesday.
"It s a challenging target to start operating the first pipeline in
October 2010," he said, adding that the schedule has already been set. October
is the start of the gas year in Europe. The latest long-term contract which
Gazprom has signed, relating to the NEGL, is with Danish Dong and not due to
start until 2011.
The NEGP is to start flowing around 27.5 billion cubic meters of gas per
year from 2010. The project also envisages laying a second pipeline and
doubling the transmission capacity to about 55 Bcm/yr in 2013.
The 1,200-km pipeline is to run from Vyborg on Russia's Baltic coast to
Greifswald on Germany's northeast Baltic coast.
Russia's Gazprom holds 51% interest in the project, and German's BASF and
E.On hold 24.5% each. On Tuesday, Gazprom said that Dutch transmission company
Nederlandse Gasunie was to join the project within a month. Gasunie and
Gazprom agreed early June to swap stakes in the NEGL and the Gasunie-led
Balgzand-Bacton Line. This will link the UK to the Netherlands in December
this year, if all goes to plan.
--Anna Shiryaevskaya, anna_shiryaevskaya@platts.com

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