Fluxys G Buys 19 Percent Stake in NEL Pipeline from WINGAS (Germany)

Fluxys G has acquired from WINGAS a 19% stake in the Nord Stream connecting pipeline.

The NEL link is one of the two pipelines planned in Germany for accommodating downstream flows from the Nord Stream pipeline which is going to bring additional volumes of Russian natural gas through the Baltic Sea to Europe. Following the signing of this agreement, the NEL ownership is composed of WINGAS 51%, Gasunie 20%, Fluxys G 19% and E.ON Ruhrgas 10%. The planned investments for the pipeline project are approximately at €1 billion.

Walter Peeraer, Chief Executive Officer of Fluxys G: “We are pleased to join this consortium for the construction of additional import capacity and to contribute to the security of supply of Europe and to the integration of the North-Western European natural gas market. We already have a stake in the Dunkirk LNG terminal project and stakes in the BBL and Interconnector pipelines linking the European continent to the UK. The participation in the NEL pipeline is a next step in our strategy to link different trading places in North-Western Europe.”

Dr. Gerhard König, Chairman of WINGAS: “Together with the Nord Stream Baltic Sea Pipeline, as a connecting pipeline NEL will play a key role in ensuring a secure supply of natural gas in Western Europe. NEL was always intended as a European project. The participation of Fluxys G strengthens the European orientation of the project significantly.”

The NEL pipeline will run from the Nord Stream landfall point in Lubmin near Greifswald to Rehden in Lower Saxony, stretching over 440 kilometers past Schwerin and Hamburg. It will connect Nord Stream with the European gas network, just as the OPAL natural gas pipeline does to the Czech Republic. Natural gas from the major reserves in Russia can thus be transported directly to Germany and other Member States of the European Union, in particular to Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the UK. The construction works of the pipeline have started in spring this year. The pipeline is scheduled to come on stream in autumn 2012.

[mappress]

Source: Fluxys G, September 1, 2011;