"The government gives permission to Nord Stream 2 to lay a gas pipeline in the economic zone of Sweden in the Baltic Sea. Sweden has no way of saying 'no' to the project," the minister said.
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Preparatory work for construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Sweden will begin in coming months, Nord Stream 2 AG company said Thursday.
"Preparatory seabed intervention works, such as pre-lay rock berms and concrete mattresses for cable crossings, will start at specific sections along the Swedish route in the coming months, while pipe laying in the Swedish EEZ is scheduled to start later this year," the company said.
Later in the day, the company stated that it had received the first permit from Russia to build the gas pipeline in the country.
"Nord Stream 2 AG, the developer of a pipeline to supply Russian natural gas to the EU market through the Baltic Sea, today received the construction permit for the Russian section of the planned pipeline. The permit has been issued by the Russian Ministry of Construction and Utilities in line with the established procedure," the company said in a press release posted on its English-language website on Thursday.
"In Russia, Nord Stream 2 needs to obtain two main permits. In addition to the permit issued today, a permit for construction of an underwater pipeline in the territorial sea of the Russian Federation will be obtained from the Russian Environmental Authority (Rosprirodnadzor). It is expected to be issued in the nearest future," the company said.
The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction of two gas pipelines that will run from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to a hub in Germany. It is a joint venture of Russian energy giant Gazprom with French Engie, Austrian OMV AG, UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and German Uniper and Wintershall.
The capacity of the pipeline will be 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The cost of the project is estimated at almost 10 billion euros.