MOSCOW, June 16. /ITAR-TASS/. A decision on allowing Russian gas giant Gazprom to use 100% of the OPAL gas pipeline should be made before July 14, Mario Mehren, head of the Russian department of Wintershall, an oil and natural gas subsidiary of German chemical giant BASF, said in an interview with PRIME news agency on Monday.

The European Commission is to give an answer on the pipeline’s status by July 14, Mehren said.

In November 2013, all the documents between the EU and pipeline owners, Gazprom and Wintershall, were signed, but in February the European Commission asked for additional documents. On April 30, the commission told the companies that a decision will be made on July 14, Mehren said.

Wintershall does not rule out s second auction on the pipeline capacities this year.

The OPAL, whose capacity is 36 billion cubic meters, is plugged into Russia’s Nord Stream undersea export pipeline and stretches along Germany’s eastern border, in accordance with the third energy package, which set the limit at 50% of capacities.