Russia Says Gas Pipeline Ensures World Energy Security

Russia says gas pipeline ensures world energy security

MOSCOW, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said on Friday the project of the North European gas pipeline “will ensure energy security of Europe and the world”, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

“We continue to develop steadily our cooperation with Germany in the energy sphere, and we are optimistic about the future,” Fradkov said at the ceremony of welding the first joint of the pipeline, which was held in Babajevo in Vologda Region, northeast of Moscow .

He said serious preparatory work had been done, noting the fact that the project would permit to create a lot of new jobs in the Russian regions, by whose territory it would go through.

German Minister of Economics and New Technologies Michael Glos shared the opinion with Fradkov, saying this ambitious project promotes the development of close cooperation of Gazprom with Germany E.ON Ruhrgas and BASF.

Germany’s former chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, will chair the board of shareholders of the NE Gas Pipeline Company, Gazprom’s CEO Alexey Miller announced.

According to him, in this company Gazprom will hold a 51 percent stake, while Germany’s EON and BASF concerns, 24.5 percent each.

The NE Gas Pipeline Company registered in Switzerland on Dec. 5 will be responsible for laying the underwater section of the pipeline on the Baltic Sea’s bed.

Russian welders connected the first parts of the unique pipeline, 1,189 kilometers of which would be laid on the Baltic Sea bottom.

The total length of the NE gas pipeline is near 3,000 kilometers.