NORD STREAM PIPELINES (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Infrastructure)

Context: Russia demanded that a para on Ukraine´s involvement in the attack of the Nord Stream pipelines be included in the draft communique of the Energy Transition track, which has led to an impasse in the ongoing discussions at the 4th Energy Transition Working Group meeting.

Nord Stream pipelines

• Nord Stream 1 subsea pipeline: Nord Stream 1 was completed in 2011 and runs from Vyborg in Leningrad (Russia) to Lubmin near Greifswald, Germany.
• Majority ownership: The Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom has a majority ownership in the pipeline
• According to Bloomberg: 40% of Europe’s pipeline gas came from Russia before the war( now 9%).
• Nord Stream 2: This is a 1,200-km pipeline that runs from Ust-Luga in Russia to Greifswald in Germany through the Baltic Sea.
• It will carry 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
• The Nord Stream crosses the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of several countries including: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
• Territorial waters of: Russia, Denmark and Germany.