Stern reported via video conference that the second line is scheduled to be filled by the end of the year and stressed that the facility can make an important contribution to the diversity of the European gas infrastructure and help rebalance supply and demand, TASS news agency reported.

The executive stressed that Russia’s Gazprom, in charge of supplying the gas to be carried by the Nord Stream 2 pipelines, is fully meeting its delivery obligations to OMV under the contract, as in previous years.

To start up the pipeline, the operator of the Nord Stream 2 AG project had to submit certificates of compliance with technical standards to the mining authority in Stralsund, Germany, after completion of the work on September 10.

It must also obtain registration as an independent transmission operator and the Federal Network Agency must publish a draft of its decision by January 8, 2022.

This department cannot ban gas pumping, but if Nord Stream 2 starts operating before receiving the registration, the operator will be fined. Its approval is required to comply with the European Union’s gas board of directors.

Nord Stream 2 is a project in which, in addition to Gazprom, companies from France, Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands participated.

It is expected to transfer 55 billion cubic meters of the fuel per year, which means it will double Russian gas exports to Germany.

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