The first pipelay vessel started its journey to the Baltic Sea to begin construction on the Nord Stream pipeline, which will pump Russian natural gas to Europe, the project operator said on Monday. The 150 meter-long (492 feet) Castoro 6, refurbished in the Netherlands, will start laying the pipes in Swedish waters, about 60 km (37 miles) off the coast of the Swedish island of Gotland, Nord Stream A.G. said. The 1,220 km-long (758-mile) Nord Stream pipeline will eventually pump 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year to western Europe, bypassing traditional transit countries such as Ukraine and Belarus.
Nord Stream will build two pipelines, each with a capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters a year, on the Baltic Sea floor stretching from Russia's Vyborg near the Finnish border to Greifswald on the coast of Germany. Nord Stream A.G. announced on March 16 that it had secured 3.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in financing for the project, covering 70% of the first phase. Gas transportation on the new line should begin in 2011.
The remaining 30% of the costs are expected to be financed by the Nord Stream shareholders. Russian energy giant Gazprom holds a 51% stake, German chemical group BASF/Winterhshall and utility E.ON Ruhrgas each hold 20% stakes and Dutch energy group Gasunie holds 9%.
