Page 12 - FSUOGM Week 25

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM

Gazprom asks to anchor vessels

to build Nord Stream 2

RUSSIA RUSSIA’S Gazprom has requested a permit from this is done. They would therefore have to
Danish regulators for the use of anchored pipe- be anchored, requiring an additional permit
Gazprom says the move layers to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, from Denmark.
is “a precautionary the project’s operator told NewsBase. The Nord Stream 2 operating company,
measure.” Gazprom had striven to finish the pipeline to owned entirely by Gazprom, told NewsBase
northern Germany by the end of last year, but it had “as a precautionary measure” filed an
US sanctions led Swiss contractor Allseas to amendment to the Danish Energy Agency
halt pipelaying in December, with just 6% left to (DEA), covering “the potential use of pipelay
complete. As NewsBase has reported, Russia is vessels that use anchors for positioning.”
expected to use two of its own pipelaying ves- This same technique was used in Danish
sels, Akademik Cherskiy and Fortuna, to finish waters to build the first Nord Stream pipeline,
the work. Ship-tracking data shows that both as well as Nord Stream 2 in German waters, the
ships are now stationed at the German port of company said.
Mukran, which Gazprom has been using over The DEA has not responded to a request for
the years as a storage base for Nord Stream 2’s comment.
pipes. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said
It is understood that Cherskiy is equipped Nord Stream 2 should start up in early 2021,
with the dynamic positioning system (DPS) more than a year behind schedule. At full capac-
required to work in Danish waters, where the ity it will flow up to 55bn cubic metres per year of
remainder of Nord Stream 2 will be built, but it Russian gas to Gazprom’s customers in Germany
lacks a crane big enough for its 48-inch (1,220- and neighbouring countries. US lawmakers have
mm) pipes. Fortuna, on the other hand, does not proposed additional sanctions to thwart the pro-
have DPS but has a big enough crane. ject, however. EU authorities have also imposed
NewsBase understands that Gazprom’s unbundling rules on the pipeline, which may
plan is to couple the two ships, but there is require Gazprom to cede control of it and pro-
a risk that Cherskiy’s DPS will not work if vide third-party access to its capacity. ™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 25 24•June•2020