The North European Gas Pipeline Threatens Europe's Energy Security

heritage.org ^ | October 26, 2006 | Ariel Cohen

[Tailgunner Joe]

The North European Gas Pipeline (NEGP or Nord Stream) will extend roughly 300 miles over land to Vyborg, Russia, on the Gulf of Finland and from Vyborg under the Baltic Sea to Greifswald in northeast Germany. Based on Russian President Putin’s predictions, the pipeline, with an initial annual capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters of gas, will become operational in 2010. The NEGP’s capacity is to reach approximately 52 billion cubic centimeters upon completion of a second pipeline in 2013. Gazprom has estimated the cost of con­struction at $4.7 billion. ...

The North European Gas Pipeline Company (North Trans Gas) has been registered in Zug, Swit­zerland, to build the pipeline’s submarine section. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who signed the initial agreement with President Putin for construction of NEGP, is now chairman of the NEGP consortium—a fact that caused an out­cry in his home country.

This is not an equal partnership. Gazprom owns 51 percent of North Trans Gas shares, and the Ger­man partners BASF and E.ON each own an addi­tional 24.5 percent. Gazprom has announced that a third partner could obtain a 9 percent stake in the project with favored parties, including Gaz de France and Dutch Gasunie. ...

For the United States, greater Russian influence over Europe’s oil and gas transportation infrastruc­ture is a negative geopolitical development. Russia has shown increasing resistance to security coopera­tion with the U.S. on vital issues involving Iran and North Korea, is resistant to the promotion of democ­racy in its vicinity, and has demonstrated a growing willingness to use its energy resources to influence other, smaller countries for political purposes.