VIENNA, March 16 (UPI) -- Financing from banks and credit agencies gives the Nord Stream gas pipeline consortium the revenue it needs to start April construction, executives said.
Paul Corcoran, the chief financial officer of the Nord Stream consortium, told the Financial Times that the financial crisis that gripped world markets in 2009 prompted a radical shift in the way the project was funded.
The consortium won $5.2 billion from 26 banks and guarantees from credit agencies to start building the natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea in April.
Corcoran said that before the 2009 recession, banks were "very prepared" to hand out cash for the project.
"The situation is radically different in the financial markets (today)," he said.
He added that declining gas demands would have little impact on the project as lags in European production offset any gaps.
Members of the Nord Stream consortium -- Russia's Gazprom, Germany's BASF/Wintershall and E.ON Ruhrgas and Dutch energy group N.V.Nederlandse Gasunie -- would take on some of the financial burden as well.
Moscow aims to diversify its gas transit options to Europe through Nord Stream. The project travels through the Baltic Sea to Germany, avoiding politically sensitive territory in Ukraine.
