Gazprom and GDF SUEZ have signed a memorandum under which GDF secures additional natural gas from Russia and becomes a 9% interest owner of the Nord Stream pipeline project.
Offshore staff
PARIS -- Gazprom and GDF SUEZ have signed a memorandum under which GDF secures additional natural gas from Russia and becomes a 9% interest owner of the Nord Stream pipeline project.
The agreement calls for up to 1.5 bcm/y of additional gas from 2015 to GDF via Nord Stream. Construction on the 1,200-km (746-mi) pipeline is expected to begin this July.
“The Nord Stream is a strategically important pipeline for Europe,” says Alexey Miller, Gazprom management committee chairman. “Together with our counterparts from GDF SUEZ, we believe that the Nord Stream will not merely strengthen cooperation between our companies, but will also help develop the energy sector of the entire continent and be another factor in the success of the long-term Russian-French partnership in the gas industry.”
“In the framework of Cross Year 2010, the year of Russia in France and of France in Russia, the agreement with Gazprom, our long-term Russian partner and the largest gas producer in the world, illustrates the high-quality relationship developed over the years,” says Gérard Mestrallet, GDF SUEZ chairman and CEO. “By entering Nord Stream AG and increasing its gas purchase from Russia, GDF SUEZ aims at contributing to Europe’s security of supply including North West Europe where the Group is one the major power producers and holds a large portfolio of final power and gas customers.”
