Gazprom working to expand Nord Stream

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MOSCOW, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- An industry official said Russian energy company Gazprom is working to form a joint venture that would oversee pipeline Nord Stream's expansion.

In December, Vladimir Buyanov, a spokesman for BP in Russia, told Voice of Russia the British energy company was working on an agreement with the Nord Stream pipeline consortium, controlled by Gazprom.

The twin Nord Stream pipeline runs from Russia's eastern ports through the Baltic Sea to Germany.

A consortium that would manage pipeline expansions was expected in January, though an industry leader told the Interfax news agency that a delay into the second quarter was expected for "purely technical" reasons.

Last month, German energy company RWE said it commissioned its Gazelle natural gas pipeline in the Czech Republic, which connects to Russia's Nord Stream.

The 103-mile pipeline connects to the Opal pipeline system in Germany and the Nord Stream dual pipeline system running through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The second string of Nord Stream went into service in October.