Russian energy giant Gazprom said it will use the onshore capacity of Nord Stream 2 (Northern Flow 2) - designed to pump natural gas to Germany - to Russia's domestic market.
Due to the current disuse of the Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipeline and taking into account the gas supply needs of consumers in the Northwest of Russia, Gazprom has decided to use the excess shore gas transmission capacity of Nord Stream 2 to develop gas supplies to the northwestern regions of Russia, RT quoted Gazproms announcement on its official Telegram account.
Gazprom noted that only half of Nord Stream 2's capacity will be supplied to Europe if the pipeline is allowed to operate in the future.
If Germany decides to operate Nord Stream 2, only one route of the pipeline with 100% of its capacity can be put into operation, Gazprom said, adding that the operation of the second offshore route of Nord Stream 2 may not begin until 2028.
When put into operation, Nord Stream 2 will bring natural gas from Russia to Europe. The pipeline runs from Russia directly to Germany across the Baltic Sea, parallel to Nord Stream 1. Experts say Nord Stream 2 will not significantly increase Russia's natural gas exports to Europe, but it could redirect - meaning more natural gas will flow directly to Germany and could bypass other existing pipelines running through other European countries, most notably Ukraine.
The US considers the pipeline a geopolitical tool of Russia to undermine Europe's energy security and national security. Ukraine also sees this in the same direction and wants the gas pipeline to stop operating. With Nord Stream 2 operational, Russia will no longer have to pay transportation fees for gas transit through Ukraine, and both Russia and Europe will have little dependence on the pipeline running through Ukraine.
The construction of Nord Stream 2 was completed in September 2021 and by December the pipeline was ready to go into operation. However, German authorities stopped certifying the pipeline before the conflict in Ukraine. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is expected to pump 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Russia to Germany when it comes into operation.
