Nord Stream 2 applies for Finnish building permit to build gas pipeline
Gas pipeline company Nord Stream 2 AG has sent its application to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment for a permit to build a twin pipeline system through the Baltic Sea.
The 1,200 kilometre long underwater pipeline would run for nearly 400 kilometres in Finland’s economic zone, and would transport natural gas from Russia to Germany.
The permit can only be granted if the Finnish government gives it the green light. Nord Stream 2 AG is also negotiating with Russia, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
The Baltic countries and Poland oppose the project, as they view it as being part of Russia’s geopolitics. The Danish government is considering prohibiting the pipeline to be built in Danish waters, and Sweden sees it as a security policy matter.
Finland is worried about the pipeline’s environmental impact. Prime Minister Juha Sipilä stated in Saint Petersburg on Friday, that Finland’s stance on the pipeline was “neutral”.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is due to be completed by the end of 2019. Nord Stream 2 AG is registered in Switzerland, and is owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom. Western energy companies Engie, OMV, Shell, Uniper and Wintershall have also invested in it.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Test clean energy solutions in south before implementing them in Arctic communities: report, Radio Canada International
Finland: Renewables to provide bulk of Finland’s energy in 2018, Yle News
Norway: ‘We will come back’, Statoil says after disappointing results in Barents Sea, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Murmansk windmills could be produced in Russia, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Volvo to go all electric starting in 2019, Radio Sweden
United States: U.S. transportation secretary announces efforts to speed up project development in Alaska, Alaska Dispatch News
