"I think so," Anatoly Yanovsky told reporters when asked whether the subject would be broached at Novak's meeting with Sefcovic in Moscow on Friday, November 25.
The Opal pipeline connects the Nord Stream pipeline with Europe’s gas transportation network. However, European restrictions permit Russian energy company Gazprom only 50 percent of the pipeline for Russian natural gas to be delivered across Germany to the Czech Republic. The restrictions are outlined in the European Union’s Third Energy Package that reserves the other half for independent gas suppliers.
In October, the European Commission expanded Gazprom's access to Opal by an additional 40 percent, preserving the last 10 percent as a reserve for third countries, which could be extended to 15-20 percent in case of high demand.
Russia is engaged in constructing the Nord Stream-2 pipeline that aims to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas a year to the European Union across the Baltic Sea to Germany, bypassing Ukraine.
