BERLIN, GERMANY: BASF subsidiary Wintershall said it intends to participate in expanding the capacities of the Nord Stream pipeline, which delivers Russian natural gas to European customers via the Baltic Sea. It signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand the Nord Stream pipeline consisting of two additional pipelines that could transport up to 55 billion additional cubic metre of Russian natural gas directly to Germany.
“In view of rising demand for gas across Europe, expansion of the gas transportation infrastructure, which provides a direct link from Russian gas deposits to the European markets, will help to further improve the security of gas supply for the European continent,” said Alexander Medvedev, deputy chairman, management committee, PJSC Gazprom.
“We want to bring our expertise in this field to the expansion of Nord Stream and look forward to working with Gazprom and further European partners on this important infrastructure project,” said Hans-Ulrich Engel, executive directors board member, BASF SE.
In addition to Gazprom, E ON, OMV and Shell have declared their intention to participate in the construction of the two additional lines of the Nord Stream pipeline.
The first two lines of Nord Stream, in which the BASF subsidiary Wintershall has a 15.5 percent stake, have been operational since Oct 2012. The Russian natural gas arrives at the mainland in Lubmin, Germany on the Baltic Sea coast and is transported from there via the two connecting pipelines OPAL (Ostsee-Pipeline-Anbindungs-Leitung – Baltic Sea Pipeline Link) and NEL (Nordeuropaische Erdgasleitung – North European Gas Pipeline) to customers in West and Central Europe.
The existing pipelines already make a vital contribution to strengthening supply security and meeting long-term demand for natural gas import in Germany and Europe. The EU’s import requirements are expected to rise further, since the gap between the production and consumption of natural gas continues to grow. The IEA forecasts that European gas production will fall by about 2 percent a year, while consumption will rise by 0.6 percent per year.
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