The project development company Nord Stream 2 AG has submitted permit applications to the Finnish government regarding the twin 1,200-km long Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines, which will spread over 374 km in the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Baltic Sea. In Finland, permitting procedure follows the environmental impact assessment procedure (EIA), which was completed in July 2017 for the Nord Stream 2 project. Other permit procedures for its pipeline project are in progress in Russia, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, in whose waters the twin pipeline strings will spread across.
The 1,220-km-long Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline will consist of two offshore strings with a total capacity of 55 bcm/year (27.5 bcm/year each). The project will double the throughput of the current Nord Stream route. It will source natural gas from the Bovanenkovo field (Yamal Peninsula, Russia) and deliver it across Europe. Gazprom estimates that the Bovanenkovo asset holds nearly 4900 bcm of gas reserves.
Nord Stream 2 AG is a subsidiary of Gazprom and was set up to design the project, build and operate the new pipeline, the construction of which is set to begin in 2018 and to be completed by the end of 2019. Besides, five European energy companies (EG Infrastruktur AG - subsidiary of Uniper, Wintershall - subsidiary of BASF, OMV, Shell and Engie) have committed to providing long-term financing for half of the total cost of the project, which is currently estimated at €9.5bn, with each European company funding up to €950m.