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Laying of last pipe of Nord Stream 2 pipeline completed, says operator

The company stressed that it would carry out required pre-commissioning activities with the goal to put the pipeline into operation before the end of this year

© Axel Schmidt/Nord Stream 2

MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. The last pipe of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been welded in the Baltic Sea, after which the pipe will be lowered onto the seabed, Nord Stream 2 AG, the project operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, reported on Monday, adding that it plans to put the pipeline into operation by the end of this year.

"On September 6, 2021, specialists on the laybarge Fortuna welded the last pipe of the two strings of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. The pipe number 200,858 will be lowered onto the seabed in German waters. As the next step, the section of the pipe coming from the German shore will be connected to the section coming from the Danish waters in a so-called above water tie-in. Afterwards, the required pre-commissioning activities are carried out with the goal to put the pipeline into operation before the end of this year," the company said in a statement.

"Nord Stream 2 will contribute to meeting long-term needs of the European energy market for gas imports, improving supply security and reliability, and providing gas under sensible economic conditions," Nord Stream 2 AG noted.

The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction of two pipelines with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The works were suspended in December 2019 after the Swiss Allseas abandoned pipe-laying due to possible US sanctions. In December 2020, the construction of the pipeline resumed.

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