Gasunie participates in planned North European gas pipeline NEL

"The Nord Stream project with the two connecting pipelines OPAL and NEL is a pan-European energy concept which will make a key contribution to supply security in Europe. Gasunie's involvement significantly enhances the European outlook of the project," Dr. Gerhard Knig of WINGAS GmbH & Co. KG, Hans-Peter Floren of E.ON Ruhrgas AG and Pieter Trienekens of Gasunie explained in unison. In order to highlight the significance of NEL for Europe's supply, the pipeline previously known as the "North German gas link" will be renamed the "North European Gas Pipeline".
The NEL pipeline will run from where the Nord Stream comes on land in Lubmin near Greifswald to Rehden in Lower Saxony, stretching over 440 kilometers past Schwerin and Hamburg. It will connect Nord Stream with the European gas network, just as the OPAL natural gas pipeline does to the Czech Republic. Natural gas from the major reserves in Russia can thus be transported directly to Germany and other Member States of the European Union, in particular the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the UK. With Gasunie joining the project, the gas grid of Gasunie in Germany and Netherlands can be integrated into the overall concept. With Gasunie (20 percent) entering the project, the shareholdings of the other two shareholders, WINGAS and E.ON Ruhrgas, decrease to 70 and 10 percent respectively (WINGAS minus 5 percent, E.ON Ruhrgas minus 15 percent). The planned investments for the pipeline project are approximately one billion euros. The final investment decision still has to be made; talks on the regulatory conditions are currently still being conducted background image with the Federal Network Agency. Public consultations for the planned natural gas pipeline are already underway in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony.