Nord Stream AG successfully conducted annual maintenance works on its twin gas pipeline system between September 11 and 22, 2017. After the temporary shutdown of both lines, gas transmission from our upstream partner resumed today, and the full capacity of the pipeline system is now available again.

Nord Stream AG’s Maintenance Director Olivier Escola highlighted: “For the fifth consecutive year, Nord Stream has successfully completed all maintenance activities that require an interruption of gas transport. Our operations and maintenance teams and our contractors have carried out these planned activities safely and on time, and contributed to a reliable, safe, and efficient gas supply to European markets.”

“Regular maintenance work is an essential part of Nord Stream’s long-term Pipeline Integrity Management Strategy. Our technological and engineering expertise is reflected in our operational history. Since the start of operation of our pipeline system, we have reliably fulfilled all transport nominations. The regular maintenance works completed today ensure the reliability of the pipeline system,” Mario Nullmeier, Compliance Director at Nord Stream AG, said.

The schedule for the maintenance activities was agreed and coordinated with Nord Stream’s upstream and downstream transmission system operators well in advance. The temporary interruption of supplies was factored into the nominations of gas to be transported via the Nord Stream Pipelines to downstream European partners.

About North Stream

Nord Stream AG is an international joint venture established for the planning, construction and operation of the twin offshore gas pipelines through the Baltic Sea. Russian OAO Gazprom holds a 51 per cent stake in the joint venture. The German companies BASF SE/Wintershall Holding GmbH and PEG Infrastruktur AG (PEGI/E.ON subsidiary), hold 15.5 per cent each, and the Dutch gas infrastructure company N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, along with the leading French energy provider ENGIE, each hold a 9 per cent stake. Nord Stream’s head office and operations centre are both in Zug, Switzerland.

Nord Stream’s natural gas pipelines through the Baltic Sea have the capacity to transport 55 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Russian gas a year to the EU, for at least 50 years. Both lines run in parallel for 1,224 kilometres from Portovaya Bay, near Vyborg on the Russian Baltic Sea coast to Lubmin, Germany. Each pipeline comprises some 100,000 24-tonne concrete-weight-coated steel pipes laid on the seabed along the precise route approved by the authorities of the five countries through whose waters the pipelines pass. Construction of the first Nord Stream Pipeline started in April 2010, and both lines were completed and on-stream in October 2012, on schedule and on budget.

Nord Stream is committed to safety and the environment: the consortium invested 100 million euros in the most comprehensive research of the Baltic Sea ever in planning the pipeline. The consortium consulted widely to ensure that the design, routing, construction and operation of the pipeline will be safe and environmentally sound.

In 2006, Nord Stream was designated a “project of European interest” by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. This inclusion in the Trans-European Energy Network Guidelines (TEN-E) of the European Union recognised Nord Stream as a key project for meeting Europe’s energy infrastructure needs.