Russia, Germany to ask EC to exempt OPAL from Third Energy Package
MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - Russia and Germany have agreed to submit a request to the European Commission to exempt the OPAL branch of the Nord Stream gas pipeline from the Third Energy Package, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with Rossiya 24 television.
"We have agreed that there will be such a request to the European Commission so that they exempt the OPAL gas pipeline from the Third Energy Package," Novak said.
He said this agreement was reached during his meeting with Germany's economy minister. They came to an understanding that in order to meet all gas supply contracts for OPAL it is necessary to ensure that this pipeline operate at full capacity.
"In order to meet the contracts that have been signed, it is necessary to fully utilize the gas pipelines that are a continuation of Nord Stream. Discussions are being held about this with the European Commission. By the way, I met with Germany's economy minister, who is also in charge of energy. They support us in that this gas pipeline must be filled 100%," Novak said.
Gazprom's partner Wintershall acknowledged earlier that the Russian gas giant and its European partners had not managed to reach an agreement on the full utilization of the capacity of the OPAL pipeline. Due to EC regulations, Gazprom cannot reserve more than 50% of OPAL.
OPAL links the Nord Stream gas pipeline that runs under the Baltic Sea to the European network of trunk pipelines. It runs from the Baltic coast through Germany to the Czech Republic. The pipeline, with a diameter of 1.4 meters, has capacity to carry 36 billion cubic meters of gas per year, making it the biggest pipeline in Europe.