Nord Stream 2 fills first gas string

Russian state-controlled Gazprom filled one of the two strings that make up its 55bn m³/yr Nord Stream 2 pipeline with operational gas, but the project has yet to complete commissioning.

The string holds around 177mn m³ of technical gas at 103 bar of pressure, while pre-commissioning continues on the second string, the Gazprom subsidiary developing the line said today.

This pressure is high enough to flow gas to Germany once the line starts up, the firm said.

Nord Stream 2, which connects western Russia and northern Germany across the Baltic Sea, is fully constructed, and filling of the first string began in early October after pre-commissioning activities on that line were completed.

In addition to physical progress on the line, most regulatory processes have already been completed, including the submission of all necessary documents to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Stralsund mining authority — the authority responsible for carrying out the pipeline's German permitting procedure. The authority told Argus that from its point of view, nothing stands in the way Nord Stream 2's start-up. Denmark's energy agency has approved the start-up of the filled line.

But the developer has yet to obtain certification as its operator. Regulator Bnetza's final decision on certification could take until July next year, although a draft decision is due by early January.

Further approvals are not needed for the line's future operator to start operations, Bnetza said. But if the pipeline is operated by a party that is not properly certified, it would be subject to potential fines, the regulator said.

By Jeff Kuntz