Nord Stream 2 drops plans to establish pipeline through Denmark

Copenhagen, July 1 - Neftegaz.RU. The big Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which aims to transport natural gas from Russia to the EU, will circumvent Danish waters, according to the Energistyrelsen energy agency, Copenhagen Post reported.

Following months of stalling by the Danish government, Nord Stream 2 AG – a subsidiary of the state-controlled Russian gas giant Gazprom and company behind the pipeline – has informed Energistyrelsen that it has withdrawn its 2017 application to divert the pipeline through Danish waters.

Energistyrelsen will continue to process the 2 latest applications involving the pipeline. The 1st from 2018 involves the pipeline being along the continental shelf northwest of Bornholm, and the 2nd from April this year concerns two proposals to divert the pipeline along the shelf southeast of the island.

As these 2 plans do not enter Danish waters, they can only be rejected due to environmental or shipping grounds.

“We felt obliged to take this step because in more than two years since we filed this application, the former Danish government has not given any indication of coming to a decision”, said Matthias Warnig, the CEO of Nord Stream 2.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline aims to double the capacity of the Nord Stream that runs along the bottom of the Baltic Sea between Russian Vyborg and Greifswald in Germany. The pipeline is expected to transport 55 billion cu m of natural gas to the EU – enough to supply 26 million homes.

Russia and Germany are in favour of the pipeline, while the US and several European countries are against it, arguing that it will make Europe more vulnerable to Russian pressure. The US recently stated it would level sanctions at companies involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.