Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel – together with President Dmitry Medvedev and the Prime Ministers of France Franc?ois Fillon and the Netherlands Mark Rutte and EU Energy Commissioner Gu?nther Oettinger – will formally inaugurate the Nord Stream Pipeline. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the first of Nord Stream's twin 1,224-km gas pipelines through the Baltic Sea will be held on November 8th, Nord Stream said Wednesday.
When fully operational in late 2012, Nord Stream's two lines will have the capacity to transport 55 billion cubic metres of Russian gas a year to the EU for at least 50 years.
The heads of government and other political and business leaders will be among 420 guests gathering at Lubmin by the pipeline's landfall for a formal ceremony to celebrate the arrival in Europe of gas through the Nord Stream Pipeline and its entry into the European gas grid. The celebrations will be led by the heads of the four countries whose companies are shareholders in Nord Stream.
Zug-headquartered Nord Stream AG (with Moscow-based branch office) is a joint venture established on December 2, 2005. Initially established as North European Gas Pipeline Company, the name was changed to Nord Stream in October 2006. The Company was formed to carry out a feasibility study and building the Nord Stream Pipeline. Russian state monopoly Gazprom holds a 51 percent stake in the JV. BASF SE/Wintershall Holding GmbH and E.ON Ruhrgas own 15.5 percent each. Gasunie and GDF SUEZ each have a 9 percent share.
Nord Stream AG is providing this key energy infrastructure on schedule and on budget, at no cost to European taxpayers: the consortium's five shareholders are providing 30 percent of the 7.4 billion euro investment, with commercial loans from 26 international banks providing 70 percent.