The Nord Stream pipeline is a planned artery along the Baltic Sea floor from Russia to Germany. It is seen as the primary rival to the Western-backed Nabucco pipeline from Caspian states to Europe through Turkey.

"Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract from Gazkomplectimpex, a subsidiary of Gazprom, the world's largest gas company, to supply eight industrial aeroderivative gas turbines driving centrifugal compressors for the new (745-mile) Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Europe," the company said on its Web site.

The first compression packages are expected to be shipped in May 2010.

Rolls-Royce supplies turbine generators and other power generation equipment to gas installations in Siberia and the massive Sakhalin oil and gas project in Far Eastern Russia.

"We are pleased to have been selected to supply the gas compression equipment for this important pipeline project," said Tom Curley, the president of Rolls-Royce engineering.