MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. Pre-commissioning activities on the first string of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline have been in progress for several months, it may be ready to start gas deliveries as early as October 1. Preparatory work on the second line may also be completed by the end of this year, Deputy Director General at the National Energy Security Fund Alexey Grivach said in an interview with TASS.
"The first string has been preparing for the start of gas transportation for several months and, with a high degree of probability, will be ready to launch from the beginning of the new gas year (October 1)," Grivach said. As for the second line, which was completed this week, the corresponding preparatory work will begin in the near future and can be completed by the end of this year, he told TASS.
At the same time, the launch of the project itself still depends on the position of the German regulator, the expert said.
Earlier on Friday, Gazprom reported that the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was fully completed on the morning of September 10. At the same time, the project operator Nord Stream 2 AG noted that the pipeline is planned to be commissioned before the end of 2021.
Nord Stream 2 includes two lines of the gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The work was suspended in December 2019 after Swiss Allseas abandoned pipe-laying due to the threat of US sanctions. Since December 2020, the construction of the gas pipeline has been resumed.