Yet there is already enough capacity to transport gas from Russia to Europe and the project’s predecessor, Nord Stream 1, is operating at half its capacity. So why is Gazprom embarking on another project? And why is the EU joining in, when Nord Stream 2 will give no access to a new source of supply or a new supplier, and further increase the excess capacity from Russia to the EU?
OP-ED
Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska: Nord Stream 2 – rule of law vs geopolitics
A Nord Stream pipeline operator stands on Oct. 8, 2012 on a platform overlooking the diagnostic cleaning plant before the opening ceremony of the North Stream second gas link in Portovaya bay, some 60 kilometers from Vyborg in northwestern Russia.
Nord Stream 2 is a controversial, 10 billion euro gas pipeline project designed by Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly, which has a 50 per cent stake, and five European companies, each with a 10 per cent stake. The planned 1,200 kilometre dual pipeline will go under the Baltic Sea from Russian to Germany with enough capacity to transport 55bn cubic meters of gas a year.
