Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could flow 5.6 Bcm of gas this year: Gazprom

Russia's Gazprom said Aug. 19 that its almost-complete Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany could flow 5.6 Bcm of gas in 2021.

The first string of Nord Stream 2 was completed in June, with testing operations ongoing ahead of its commissioning, while the second string is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

It remains unclear when the pipeline will be able to begin commercial flows to Germany, with an application from Switzerland-based developer Nord Stream 2 AG to be registered as an independent transmission operator still pending.

In a statement summarizing the flows in the operational Nord Stream pipeline in the first seven months of 2021, Gazprom added a final sentence that read: "The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline may supply 5.6 Bcm of gas this year."

Nord Stream 2 -- like its operational predecessor -- has a capacity of 55 Bcm/year, though the original Nord Stream currently flows above that level.

Nord Stream 2 would take some time to ramp up to full capacity, but the forecast of flows of 5.6 Bcm in 2021 provides some guidance as to how much gas Gazprom expects the pipeline to be able to deliver once it becomes operational.

First Nord Stream

Gazprom said that flows via the first Nord Stream pipeline totaled 33.7 Bcm in the period January-July, up from 32.9 Bcm in the same period of 2020.

Supplies via the route that remained in Germany totaled 22.7 Bcm, up from 15.9 Bcm in the same period last year, it said. Nord Stream gas can also flow onward to other countries in Europe.

Gazprom said its pipeline gas supplies to Germany "in all directions" amounted to 33.1 Bcm in the first seven months of 2021.

That, it said, is 42.1% or 9.8 Bcm higher year on year.

The first Nord Stream pipeline became operational in 2011.