Nord Stream 2 Pipe Laying In Danish Waters Set To Conclude In April - Gazprom

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th February, 2021) Pipe-laying work for the section of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that passes through Danish waters is set to be completed in April, Anton Demchenko, Russian gas giant Gazprom's head of investor relations, said Tuesday.

"According to their [Nord Stream 2 AG, project operator's] message, the construction of the gas pipeline in Danish waters is ongoing. This is the main section that has yet to be completed. The potential completion date for this section is April 2021," Demchenko said during a company conference call.

Demchenko said that Gazprom was committed to completing the pipeline, which will carry Russian gas to Europe, although he noted that the project was under sustained external pressure.

"We are committed to completing the construction of the gas pipeline and making it operational on time," he said.

The United States has imposed several rounds of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 project over recent years.

Washington's punitive measures have targeted companies and entities that have conducted construction and supervisory work on the project.

Despite the US pressure, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Austrian counterpart, Sebastian Kurz, have both rejected calls from certain sections of the European Union to abandon Nord Stream 2.

The pipeline's operator, Nord Stream 2 AG, said on Saturday that the Russian Fortuna vessel, which was recently hit by new US sanctions, has begun pipe-laying work in Danish territorial waters.

Nord Stream 2, a joint project between Gazprom and several European energy giants, including Germany's Uniper and Wintershall, is a planned 745-mile-long twin pipeline that will carry nearly 2 trillion cubic feet of gas annually from Russia to Germany.