Gazprom prepared to start supplying gas to Europe via Nord Stream 2 on Jan 1, 2020
ST. PETERSBURG. Oct 4 (Interfax) - Gazprom is prepared to start supplying gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline on January 1, 2020, the Russian gas giant's CEO, Alexei Miller, said at a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum.
Miller said the first Nord Stream pipeline had been working above planned capacity for some time, which was more evidence of the need for a second Nord Stream pipeline.
"In the last 12 months, Nord Stream 1 has been operating at 7% above capacity. We recall that its capacity is 55 billion cubic meters, but technological quirks allow it to export slightly more. In the last 12 months we have exported precisely 59 bcm via Nord Stream 1. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, as a corridor to export gas from Russia, is more than 100% in demand," he said, when asked whether Nord Stream2 was needed.
"Nord Stream 2 is being built strictly according to the announced schedule. We are able to start supplying gas via Nord Stream 2 on January 1, 2020," he said.
"The market for LNG in Europe is the last recourse - pipeline gas will always have the advantage over it," Miller said.
He said Gazprom would finish building the offshore section of the TurkStream pipeline in two months. "But if we have had much debate about Nord Stream 2, although the project is under way, it should be mentioned that the TurkStream project, the lines already built, is ahead of schedule. We'll finish the offshore section of TurkStream in two or three months," Miller said.