TheLocal.se: Nord Stream plans new gas pipelines

Gas pipeline firm Nord Stream will hold an information meeting on the Baltic island of Gotland on Monday to introduce a proposal to extend its controversial gas pipeline project.

Russian company OAO Gazprom is the majority shareholder in Nord Stream, an international consortium formed in 2005 to plan and construct a 1,224-kilometre natural gas pipeline along the Baltic Sea floor. Now, Nord Stream wants to expand the project by adding one or two more pipelines.

The gas pipelines currently under construction will deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany via Sweden. The proposed extension would run from Russia to Germany, passing Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

Monday's meeting in Visby, Gotland will be open to the public and is part of a decision-making process where stakeholders have the opportunity to voice opinions. It is a requirement for being allowed to submit a construction application.

"We hope to begin putting the pipes down in 2016," said Nord Stream spokesman Lars O Grönstedt. MORE