MOSCOW, June 4. / TASS /.The laying of the first string of Nord Stream 2 was completed on Friday, but the sections still need to be connected. After that, commissioning will begin, TASS was told by the operator of the Nord Stream 2 AG project.
"Today, the laying of the first string of the pipeline has been completed. The laid sections of the pipeline have yet to be connected and commissioned. The pipe lying on the second string continues," the statement said.
The Nord Stream 2 project contemplates the construction of two pipeline strings with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The gas pipeline as a whole follows the route of the first Nord Stream, but it does not begin at Vyborg, but at Ust-Luga (also in the Leningrad Region). It passes through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of five countries - Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. The total length of the gas pipeline is 1,2300 km.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the SPIEF plenary session that the first string of the gas pipeline had already been laid, and the second could be completed within 1.5-2 months. The head of the Austrian OMV, Rainer Seele, told TASS on the sidelines of the SPIEF that about 50 km of the second branch of Nord Stream 2 remained to be laid.
The 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is being held on June 2-5. The forum’s business program will focus on the global and Russian economies, social issues, and technological development. TASS is the information partner and the official photo hosting agency of the forum.