Putin, Merkel Say Nord Stream Line Two to Open in October 2012
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the second line of the Nord Stream pipeline will come online in October.
Speaking to German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the phone yesterday, President Putin and Chancellor Merkel discussed the implementation of the second phase of the pipeline. Both parties "stressed the importance of launching the second part of the Nord Stream pipeline in October of this year, in connection with assuring Europe’s energy security," a statement for the Kremlin said.
Seperately, in a press conference after a meeting with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic yesterday, President Putin said that the pipeline could be launched as soon as October 8th, both Ria Novosti and ITAR-TASS have reported.
At the time of writing, this date had not been confirmed or commented on by the Nord Stream pipeline consortium.
Construction on the second line of the pipeline is already completed with the last joint of the pipeline welded and tied to the rest of the pipeline on August 29th this year. When operational, the second line is expected to double the current capacity of the Nord Stream pipeline from 26.5 billion cubic metres to 55 billion cubic metres per year.