MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. The operator of Nord Stream 2 is keen to provide the market with additional reliable gas transport capacities as soon as possible, a source in the press service of Nord Stream 2 AG told TASS.

"Our goal is to provide the market with additional reliable gas transport capacities as soon as possible. We will inform about further technical steps," the company said in response to TASS request.

The operator of the gas pipeline project said earlier on Monday that the gas-in procedure for the first string of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had been completed as the string had been filled with around 177 mln cubic meters of technical gas. This pressure is sufficient to start gas transportation in the future.

Pre-commissioning steps for the second string are ongoing.

On October 4, the Danish Energy Agency said Nord Stream 2 AG, the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, had fulfilled all conditions for commissioning Nord Stream 2. The company announced the start of the gas-in procedure for the first string of the pipeline.

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 and will be fully completed on September 10, 2021.

The commissioning of the gas pipeline is planned for the end of this year. Russia's gas producer Gazprom said earlier that 5.6 bln cubic meters of gas might be delivered via the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline this year.