VIENNA (Sputnik) — Shareholders of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline aim to draw 70 percent of financing from lenders despite their commitment to contribute half of funds, an executive board member of Austria’s OMV told Sputnik on Thursday.
"We planned to pay for 70 percent of project expenses with bank loans. This is still our goal," OMV’s Manfred Leitner said.
Nord Stream 2 AG, a venture of Russian’s Gazprom energy giant and its European partners, signed a deal on Monday with OMV, Engie, Royal Dutch Shell, Uniper and Wintershall where the five firms agreed to provide half of long-term financing, estimated at $10.3 billion.
The pipeline will bring some 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. The launch of the pipeline is planned for 2018.
