NS2 Now Only Needs Danish Permit
Russia has agreed to the Gazprom-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline crossing its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), NS2 said August 14. That means everyone is now waiting for the last permit – from Denmark.
Nord Stream 2 has received a 114-km permit for the installation of an offshore pipeline in the Russia’s territorial waters. The permit was issued by Russia’s federal agency for the supervision of natural resources use (Rosprirodnadzor); the ministry of construction and utilities had previously issued a construction permit for the NS2 on Russian territory.
“Nord Stream 2 project is developing according to the planned schedule," NS2 chief project officer Henning Kothe said. To date, beside Russia, Germany, Finland and Sweden have granted all the permits necessary for construction of the planned pipeline within their jurisdictions.
But the national permitting procedure is still ongoing in Denmark; last week NS2 filed an alternative 175-km route that does not pass through Danish territorial waters in an attempt to unblock the impasse.
Denmark’s foreign ministry has a right of veto on any route across Danish territorial waters (though not its EEZ) if it decides the Russian route damages Danish foreign, security or defence interests. Its decision – either to approve or reject that original route – has been pending since January 2018. It is causing headaches among Danish politicians, according to at least one local press report.
NS2 would carry 55bn m3/yr Russian gas directly to northeast Germany upon completion, which its backers still say they expect late 2019. It would double to 110bn m3/yr the capacity controlled by Gazprom directly into northeast Germany, which could enable it to switch most flows away from Ukraine post-2019 when an existing transit contract is due for renewal.