Nord Stream 2 Project to Keep Energy Prices in EU Stable - German Companies

15:02 GMT, 28 June 2018

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project will keep energy prices in the European Union stable, the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations business association said Thursday.

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"With the help of additional capacities the pipeline will keep energy prices stable throughout the European Union, and will help maintain the EU economy competitive," the statement read.

According to the committee's chairman Michael Harms, Nord Stream 2 will help cover about 50 billion cubic meters of gas supplies necessary amid dropping gas output in the Netherlands.

"In the recent months, we have faced a fast drop of gas production in the Netherlands. That is why we will have to increase gas imports to the European Union by 80-100 billion cubic meters per year. Nord Stream 2 will help cover about 50 billion cubic meters of that," Harms was quoted as saying in the statement.

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Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture of Russia’s energy giant Gazprom with France's Engie, Austria’s OMV AG, UK-Denmark’s Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall. The pipeline with an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters will be laid under the Baltic Sea and run from the Russian coast to a hub in Germany. The pipeline is expected to be put into operation by the end of 2019.

The project has been welcomed by some European countries, such as Germany and Austria, and criticized by others, predominantly Eastern European states.