MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/: European energy companies acting as partners of the Russian gas holding Gazprom in the Nord Stream 2 are committed to invest into the project implementation, an official spokesperson of Nord Stream 2 AG, the project operator, told TASS on Tuesday.
"Western European energy companies from Austria Germany, France, the UK, and the Netherlands have committed to invest almost a billion euros each. Our shareholder and the five European financial investors are fully committed to the project, as are Nord Stream 2’s suppliers," the company said.
"Almost all of the project CAPEX, amounting to 8 billion euros, have been committed, creating thousands of jobs and growth across Europe," he noted.
Over 670 companies from 25 countries of the world are engaged in the Nord Stream 2, the spokesperson added.
"The implementation of Nord Stream 2 is not subject to political sentiment, but a comprehensive framework of permitting procedures following clearly defined legal requirements that are based on EU and national legislation as well as international conventions," the company’s spokesperson noted
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is scheduled to be put into operation in late 2019. Each of the pipeline’s two lines will have a capacity of 27.5 bln cubic meters. The pipeline, set to run from the Russian coast along the Baltic Sea bed to the German shore, is expected to connect the Russian resource base with European customers. The total project cost of the Nord Stream 2 is estimated at 9.5 bln euro. Apart from Russia’s Gazprom, the project also involves German companies Uniper and Wintershall, Austrian OMV, French Engie and the British-Dutch Shell.