OREANDA-NEWS. February 12, 2010. Speaking to a Helsinki summit, PM Vladimir Putin said there would be no environmental risks from the Nord Stream pipeline, which is to run under the Baltic Sea to bring gas from Russia to the EU. He characterized Gazprom’s new pipeline as “environmentally safe, reliable and a very good source of gas to Europe”, reported the press-centre of OTKRITIE Financial Corporation.

All countries affected by the project have given it the green light, but Nord Stream still needs approval from a Finnish environmental authority, which is expected to announce its decision this Friday, according to Bloomberg.  

View: By going under the Baltic Sea, the Russian-led Nord Stream pipeline could substantially reduce the risks associated with natural gas transits via Ukraine, in our opinion. In January 2009, a dispute between Russia and Ukraine on gas prices resulted in volume cutoffs, resulting in a 4.5bcm shortfall in Gazprom gas deliveries to customers in Western Europe amid freezing winter weather.

Nord Stream—an international consortium of Gazprom (51%), BASF (20%), E.ON (20%), and Gasunie (9%)—is planning to build two 1,220-kilometer pipelines to deliver gas from Russia to Germany. Each pipeline will have an annual capacity of 27.5bcm. A decision from Finnish environmental authorities should allow the Nord Stream consortium to begin construction work in the Baltic Sea.