Finland gives construction permit for Nord Stream 2 pipeline

Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of Gazprom and the operator of the Nord Stream 2 project, has received a permit to use the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for the construction of the pipeline.

Nord Stream 2 AG said on Thursday that it received the consent from the Finnish government for the use of the country’s EEZ for the construction of the natural gas pipelines in its 374-kilometer-long section running through the Finnish EEZ outside territorial waters.

According to the company, the EEZ permit application was processed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland.

Tore Granskog, permitting manager for Finland at Nord Stream 2 AG, said: “We are very pleased to have obtained this permit after an extensive and thorough permitting process. It marks yet another important milestone for the Nord Stream 2 project.”

In Finland, Nord Stream 2 needs to obtain two permits for the construction and operation of the pipelines in the Finnish EEZ.

The company said that the second permit would be granted according to the Water Act and a decision was expected to be made within the next weeks.

In late March, Nord Stream 2 AG received the necessary permits in Germany.

“The national permitting procedures in the other three countries along the route – Russia, Sweden, and Denmark – are proceeding as planned,” the company said.

The two 1,200-km Nord Stream 2 pipelines will mostly follow the route of the existing Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea – from the coast of Russia to Greifswald on Germany’s northern coast. The project will have the capacity to transport up to 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia to Europe, connecting with pipelines within the European Union for onwards transmission.