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Nord Stream 2 completed as last

pipe section welded into place

RUSSIA THE last piece of pipe was welded into place on before the end of the year. Gas price initially fell
September 7, completing the construction of the by €1.9 on the announcement of the completion
But there is still controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline con- of the pipeline but remained at unseasonal highs
uncertainty about when necting Russia’s vast Yamal gas fields directly to of over $650 per thousand cubic metres.
the pipeline will start Germany and bypassing Ukraine, the operating “Afterwards, the required pre-commission-
flowing. company said in a statement. ing activities are carried out with the goal to put
“On September 6, 2021, specialists on the the pipeline into operation before the end of this
lay-barge Fortuna welded the last pipe of the two year. Nord Stream 2 will contribute to meeting
strings of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The pipe long-term needs of the European energy market
number 200,858 will be lowered onto the seabed for gas imports, improving supply security and
in German waters. As the next step, the section of reliability, and providing gas under sensible eco-
the pipe coming from the German shore will be nomic conditions,” the operating company said.
connected to the section coming from the Dan- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said
ish waters in a so-called above water tie-in,” the the same day that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipe-
operating company said. line will be completed in the next few days, but
Reports that the completion means gas will remained vague on the start of operations.
begin flowing within days were later corrected The $11bn Nord Stream 2 project is expected
as misleading, as a series of tests and inspections to double the capacity of the existing Nord
still need to be carried out. The operating com- Stream pipeline across the Baltic Sea and allow
pany remains vague on the timing for the com- Russia to bypass Ukraine when piping gas to
mencement of gas flow, but said it would start Europe. ™

Indian firms reportedly in talks

to buy Arctic LNG 2 stake

RUSSIA TWO Indian companies, Petronet LNG and works to boost the share of gas in its energy mix,
ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), are reportedly in including LNG imports. Russia, for its part, is
Inidan companies discussions about buying a stake in Russia’s Arc- seeking to expand its share of the LNG export
already have an tic LNG 2 project, which is being developed by market amid growing competition.
upstream footprint in Novatek. The first Arctic LNG 2 liquefaction train is
Russia. The talks are centred on a 9.9% stake in the due to enter service in 2023, with the project set
liquefaction project, Bloomberg reported this to reach its full nameplate capacity of 19.8mn
week, citing a member of the Indian delegation tonnes per year (tpy) of the super-chilled fuel in
to Moscow, who is involved in the negotiations 2025. Currently, Novatek owns 60% in the $11bn
but spoke on condition of anonymity. No final project, while TotalEnergies, China National
decisions are reported to have been made as Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and CNOOC Ltd
yet. each have 10% stakes and a Japanese consortium
None of the companies have commented holds the remaining 10%.
publicly on the matter but Indian Minister of Novatek, which is Russia’s largest LNG pro-
Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh ducer, had initially expected European, Russian
Puri told reporters at a briefing in Moscow that and Asian lenders each to provide a third of the
Indian firms were talking to Novatek and that financing for Arctic LNG 2. However, it has
“everything is on the table”. Puri is also reported faced issues obtaining loans for the project from
to have met with Novatek’s CEO, Leonid Mikhel- European lenders, according to comments made
son, during an Indian energy delegation’s visit to by Mikhelson that were cited by Bloomberg. As
Vladivostok last week for the Eastern Economic a result, Russian financing may end up account-
Forum. ing for around 60% of the required amount, he
Reports of the discussions come as India said. ™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 36 08•September•2021