The Nord Stream Pipeline System shipped 51 bcm of Russian natural gas to the European Union market in 2017, reaching a 93% utilisation rate of its annual design capacity of 55 bcm. This is a 16% increase in gas deliveries, as 43.8 bcm were shipped in 2016, and is the highest utilisation rate of the facility since the commissioning of the first string in November 2011. Gas exports to Europe have ramped up every year, from 11.5 bcm in 2012 to 51 bcm in 2017, raising the cumulated volume of gas transported to the EU since 2011 to 205 bcm in 2017.
The 1,200 km long Nord Stream gas pipeline runs through the Baltic Sea and ships Russian natural gas from Vyborg (Russia) to Lubmin near Greifswald, Germany. Upon arrival in Germany, the gas is then shipped via the NEL and OPAL connecting pipelines. The pipeline capacity could be doubled with the 55 bcm/year Nord Stream II project (expected in late 2019).