German natural gas importer Wingas GmbH said Friday it has signed a letter of intent with Fluxys SA (FLUX.BT) whereby the Belgian gas grid operator will become a shareholder in a northern German gas pipeline project that aims to link the Baltic Sea transit pipeline Nord Stream to the German grid.

In an emailed statement, Wingas--a 50-50 joint venture between BASF SE's (BAS.XE) Wintershall AG and Russian gas monopoly Gazprom OAO (GAZP.RS)--said that Fluxys will take a 19% stake in the NEP pipeline project.

Wingas added that its stake in NEL will fall to 51% from 70% at present as a result.

Dutch energy company Nederlandse Gasunie NV joined the NEL project in June, taking a 20% stake in the project.

E.ON Ruhrgas, the gas arm of German utility E.ON AG (EOAN.XE), owns 10% of NEL.

NEL is a planned 440-kilometer pipeline that would connect the Nord Stream Baltic Sea transit pipeline, which is currently under construction, to the German gas grid.

The NEL consortium expects the pipeline to cost around EUR1 billion. A final investment decision hasn't yet been made, as talks with Germany 's network operator on regulatory conditions are still ongoing.

The grid operator previously denied a request to exempt the pipeline from regulation, which effectively forces the partners to open a certain share of the NEL capacity to competitors.

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