The operator of the Nord Stream gas pipeline project said on Thursday it
had received approval from German authorities to connect the trans-Baltic
pipeline to the European gas network.
The permission was obtained by Opal Net Transport, a subdivision of Wingas,
a joint venture between Russian energy giant Gazprom and
Germany
's
Wintershall, the Nord Stream operator said in a statement.
Opal's section will connect Nord Stream to the European gas distribution
network in
Southern Brandenburg
at the German-Czech border, the statement said.
The Nord Stream pipeline, which will pump gas from
Siberia
to
Europe
under the
Baltic Sea
, bypassing East
European transit countries, will be 1,220 kilometers (760 miles) long.
Nord Stream will have two pipelines, each with a capacity of 27.5
billion cubic meters a year, on the
Baltic
Sea
floor stretching from
Russia
's
Vyborg
near the Finnish border to
Greifswald
on
Germany
's coast. Construction of the first pipe is to begin in April, with
pumping of gas expected to start in late 2011, while the second line is to come
online in 2012.
Nord Stream received its final permit earlier this month, confirming
approval for the route from Finland, Russia, Germany, Sweden and Denmark, the
five countries whose waters the pipeline will pass through. The operator has
changed the originally proposed route to ease environmental concerns.