The first deliveries of gas through Nord Stream 2 may take place on Oct. 1, U.S. media Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources within Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom.
Gazprom didn’t answer the Kyiv Post’s request for comment.
Gazprom announced on Sept. 7 that it had welded the final piece of pipeline, which would shortly be laid onto the seabed. The pipe can start operating after the Danish and German sections are connected.
Nord Stream 2 will allow Russia to bypass Ukraine while transporting gas to Europe through Germany, depriving Ukraine of at least $1.5 billion in transit fees per year.
The controversial project is awaiting technical certification and insurance from the German gas regulator, which is still considering Nord Stream 2’s application as an independent transmission system operator.
The amount of gas that will flow through the pipeline is still being negotiated. Russia may only be allowed to use half of the capacity of its Nord Stream 2 undersea pipeline to Germany, a German regional court ruled on Aug. 25.
Under European regulations, half of the pipeline’s capacity must be auctioned to third parties to be allowed to operate in Europe, the court ruled, according to Bloomberg.
There are no third-party gas exporters in Russia, where Gazprom is a monopoly. This ruling would only allow Gazprom to send 27.5 billion cubic meters through the pipeline per year. The maximum annual capacity is 55 billion cubic meters.
Bloomberg’s source also revealed that by the start of December, Gazprom hopes to send gas through both lines of the pipeline, transporting a total of 5.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas by the end of the year.
Gazprom hopes to begin deliveries before the start of the winter due to a gas shortage in Europe.
In May 2021, head of Gazprom’s exporting division Elena Burminstrova suggested that Gazprom could “cover additional demand with the commissioning of Nord Stream 2.”
The comment that led Ukrainian energy think-tank Dixi Group to accuse Gazprom of manipulating the gas market to create an artificial deficit to make it look like Nord Stream 2 is necessary.
