Nord Stream 2 AG Built Over 150 Miles of Gas Pipeline Despite US Opposition

"As of now, the company built about 250 kilometres of the pipeline," company spokesman Jens Mueller said in a statement.

The project continues in spite of the strong opposition from the US. Earlier in November, US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland noted that Washington had instruments that could slow down or even stop the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. The US has made a number of attempts to prevent the implementation of Nord Stream 2 and even organised a provision for counteracting the construction of the pipeline in its Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

READ MORE: Nord Stream-2 Project Advantageous for Europe — Kremlin Spokesman

Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture of Gazprom and five European companies. It aims to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas annually to the European Union across the Baltic Sea to Germany. The pipeline project has been welcomed by some countries in Europe and opposed by others, fearing that it might increase their dependence on Russian gas.

The project's estimated cost is 9.5 billion euros ($10.9 billion). Gazprom's European partners — France's Engie, OMV, Royal Dutch Shell and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall — pledged to finance 50 per cent of the project. The pipeline is expected to be put into operation by the end of 2019.