The chief executive of state-controlled Dutch gas network operator NV Nederlandse Gasunie Wednesday said he is very confident the economic downturn and credit crisis won't affect the planned Nord Stream gas pipeline or Gate liquefied natural gas terminal.
The Nord Stream, a planned pipeline to bring natural gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia into Germany, won't be affected by a recent selloff in energy prices, said Gasunie CEO Marcel Kramer on the sidelines of the Oil & Money conference in London. Gasunie has a 9% share in the project along with OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), BASF SE (BAS.XE) subsidiary Wintershall AG and the Ruhrgas subsidiary of German utility E.ON AG (EOA.XE).
Gasunie has completed all the financing for the Gate LNG terminal to be built in Rotterdam, which will be capable of importing 98 billion cubic meters of gas a year, Kramer said. He acknowledged that financing costs have risen amid a crisis in the banking industry.
"At Gasunie we're fine ... we're in good shape," Kramer said, citing his company's recent EUR1 billion, 2013-dated bond, which was priced last week at 99.68.