Nord Stream 2 kicks off preparatory pipelay works in Germany

Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of Gazprom and the operator of the Nord Stream 2 project, on Tuesday started the offshore preparatory works for the subsequent pipelaying in the Bay of Greifswald, Germany. 

The Nord Stream 2 project concerns the construction of an offshore natural gas transmission system comprising of two 1,220 km pipelines from the Russian Baltic Sea to the German Baltic coast.

Nord Stream 2 AG said in a statement on Tuesday that five dredgers are now working on the trench for the two pipeline strings.

All ongoing works are being carried out based on the planning approval for the construction and operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in German territorial waters and at the landfall facilities, which was issued by the Stralsund Mining Authority on January 31, 2018.

“We ask all users of the Bay of Greifswald to inform themselves in advance via the official notice to mariners in the interest of their own safety,” said Georg Nowack, Construction Manager at Nord Stream 2 AG.

The approval is the result of a planning and consultation process which started in April 2017 and has shown that the pipeline is needed to cover a part of Europe’s future natural gas supply gap and that it will contribute to increasing security of supply and competition in the EU gas market.

Furthermore, this pipeline is the most efficient way, both economically and ecologically, to transport gas from the world’s largest reserves to consumers in Germany and Central Europe, the company said.

In addition to Germany, Finland has also granted all the necessary permits for construction and operation. Offshore preparatory works have also started in Finland.

The national permitting procedures in the other three countries along the route – Russia, Sweden and Denmark – are proceeding as planned. Further permits are expected to be issued in the coming months. Accordingly, scheduled construction works are to be implemented in 2018 as planned.