Gazprom’s new pipeline overcomes final hurdle with green light from Denmark.

Denmark has granted permission for Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline to be built through Danish waters.

After months of delays, the Danish Energy Agency today announced it is finally giving its approval for the natural gas pipeline project that will transport Russian gas directly to Germany.

Denmark was the final country on the planned route to approve construction on its continental shelf, following Russia, Finland, Sweden and Germany. Gazprom subsidiary Nord Stream 2 AG submitted three different applications to the Danish government with different potential routes for the project. Gazprom had previously warned that a rejection from Denmark would cost “hundreds of millions of dollars” in extra costs for the project, which is supposed to be in operation before the end of this year.

The Danish Energy Agency today confirmed it “has granted a permit to Nord Stream 2 AG to construct a section of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines on the Danish continental shelf southeast of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.”

Of the three Gazprom proposals, Denmark chose the shorter of two southeastern routes which avoids shipping lines and the Natura 2000 conservation area.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will carry an estimated 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas every year along the 1,200 kilometer route from Ust-Luga in Russia, near the border with Estonia, to Greifswald in northern Germany.

Shares in Gazprom, which is majority owned by the Russian government, had already hit an 11-year high in morning trading before the news was confirmed. They continued to climb after the announcement, up almost 5% on the day to $8.22 each.

(c) The Moscow Times