Gazprom head to discuss North European Pipeline project with EU official

Gazprom Executive Board Chairman Alexey Miller will discuss the project of laying the North European Gas Pipeline with a high-ranking official of the European Commission in Brussels today.

As it was reported earlier, analysts reckon that such companies as Nederlandse Gasunie, BASF, Ruhrgas ш Fortum could join the North European Gas Pipeline project. The pipeline will give Gazprom access to the market of the UK and will allow it to diversify Russian gas exports and to directly link the gas pipeline networks of Russia and Baltic countries to the European gas pipeline network. The laying of the North European Gas Pipeline from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea will help Gazprom to bypass some "difficult countries," such as Belarus, Ukraine and Poland.

The cost of laying the North European Gas Pipeline is $5.7bn. The pipeline will go from the northwest of Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. The project comprises laying special "side pipelines" to supply gas to Finland, Sweden, the UK and other countries. It is planned to open the gas pipeline in 2007, and its full capacity is to be reached in 2009.

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