Germany issued a permit to construct a 50 km section of the 1,223 km gas pipeline through German territorial waters while the Russian Government issued a permit to construct a 123 km section through Russian territory.
The permits were awarded following extensive national environmental impact assessments in both countries.
Nord Stream Managing Director Matthias Warnig said “We have engaged in detailed consultations on all aspects of our proposed pipeline in order to ensure that the pipeline will be safe and environmentally sound.”
The Nord Stream joint venture – consisting of Gazprom, BASF/Wintershall Holding AG, E.ON Ruhrgas AG and NV Nederlandse Gasunie – expects to receive the second German permit and the second Finnish permit in the next few weeks.
“We are firmly on schedule to start construction of the pipeline mid-2010 and to start transporting gas in 2011,”said Mr Warnig.
The Nord Stream Pipeline consists of two parallel pipelines, which will transport natural gas from Russia to EU countries. The first pipeline is expected be operational by 2011, and will have a capacity of approximately 27.5 Bcm/a. The second pipeline will go online during the second phase of the project, with full capacity expected to reach 55 Bcm/a.