Download
Russia completes controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany
Updated 00:44, 11-Sep-2021
Patrick Rhys Atack
Europe;Germany

Translating...

Content is automatically generated by Microsoft Azure Translator Text API. CGTN is not responsible for any of the translations.

Error loading player: No playable sources found
05:27

 

Nord Stream 2, the controversial gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, has been completed according to Gazprom, the Russian gas company that built the route. 

Alexey Miller, chairman of the management committee, announced completion at 8:45 a.m. Moscow time on Friday. 

The 1,200km pipeline follows much the same route as the original Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea. It leaves Russia from Ust-Luva, near St Petersburg, before surfacing in Greifswald, northern Germany. 

The underwater gas line has caused significant controversy, as critics say it could allow Russia to wield power over Europe. It is also predicted to take business away from a gas line that runs through Ukraine to EU nations. 

But Nord Stream 2 will double the amount of gas Germany can import from Russia, with the new system designed to deliver up to 55bn cubic meters of natural gas per year, meaning the full Gazprom access to European gas supplies will be 110bn cubic meters each year.

More than 500bn cubic meters of natural gas is used in Europe each year. 

There is speculation gas will begin running through Nord Stream 2 as soon as October, but the pipeline needs to be cleared by authorities and pass safety checks before anything will flow. German regulators will also need to give a final sign-off. 

Yuriy Vitrenko, CEO of Ukraine's state gas company Naftogaz, has called on EU authorities to delay the certification.

Vitrenko said Naftogaz has lodged "necessary arguments in Berlin and Brussels," relating to the EU's energy rules, which stipulate a split between production, transit and supply. 

The 1,200 km pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea./Nord Stream 2/AFP

The 1,200 km pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea./Nord Stream 2/AFP

 

Germany's outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has fought off arguments from the U.S. and others, which warned the second pipeline would give Russia too much of a bargaining chip over Germany and the EU. 

Speaking in Kyiv in August, Merkel sought to reassure Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia would not be allowed to use gas as a weapon and Germany would back new sanctions on Russia if Nord Stream 2 is leveraged in such a way.

MORE FROM CGTN
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Europe

14:49, 21-Jul-2025

{"type":2,"value":"Ken Browne in Cuidad Real, Spain","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Europe

14:35, 21-Jul-2025

{"type":2,"value":"Michael Marillier in London","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Europe

16:17, 20-Jul-2025

Hundreds protest across multiple cities in Poland over immigration
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Europe

14:45, 20-Jul-2025

TOP NEWS
China, EU to hold 25th China-EU Summit in Beijing
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Politics

03:00, 21-Jul-2025

Chinese FM holds talks with Croatian counterpart
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Politics

07:00, 21-Jul-2025

Israeli tanks enter Deir al-Balah as Gaza hunger crisis worsens
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Middle East

03:14, 22-Jul-2025

Search Trends