Vladimir Putin announced that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is ready for operation.
According to him, Russia and its partners from Europe – five companies – have completed the task of creating this additional route.
Ready to go
Nord Stream 2 is ready for work, – the head of state said during a meeting dedicated to the heating season.
And he added: now the decision to start operating the new gas pipeline must be made by European regulators.
The Kremlin informs about this, noting that before this, the head of the Gazprom concern, Alexey Miller, reported to the President on the completion of work on filling the second string of the gas pipeline with gas.
According to him, the first and second lines of Nord Stream 2 are under operating pressure and are fully ready for operation.
Why hasn’t the gas pipeline been approved yet?
We would like to add that the Federal Network Agency of Germany is currently carrying out activities as part of the gas pipeline approval procedure.
However, the process was suspended due to the fact that the regulator announced the need to create a subsidiary of Nord Sream 2 AG in Germany.
Accordingly, you will need to reapply for certification as an operator, but on behalf of the established company.
When can certification be completed?
Only after this will the network agency resume the procedure and make a decision on which the European Commission will speak.
The certification process, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, can presumably be completed in the first half of 2022.
But the head of the Federal Network Agency, Jochen Homann, stated that the corresponding decision would most likely not be made in the first half of the year.
