Gazprom and Germany's Verbundnetz Gas (VNG) have signed an agreement on cooperation in underground natural gas storage, the Russian energy holding's press office reported today according to RBC. According to the document, the parties are to construct an underground gas storage facility near Bernburg, a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The first storage cavern is expected to be put into operation in 2009, while the last one is to be brought into service in 2022. The full capacity of the storage is projected to reach 510m cubic meters of gas.
Gazprom and VNG are planning to make joint investments of EUR 350m in the project over the next 14 years and build ten additional caverns in Saxony-Anhalt, VNG's CEO Klaus-Evald Holst was cited as saying by Gazprom's press office.