MOSCOW, June 24 (UPI) -- The Baltic Nord Stream gas pipeline is on schedule to launch in 2011 despite environmental concerns, German energy officials said Tuesday in Moscow.
Bernhard Ruetersberg with the German energy firm E.ON said environmental permits were just one of the obstacles facing the 745-mile pipeline.
He said concerns that Russian energy giant Gazprom viewed the Nord Stream plan as a way to secure European dependency, however, were unsubstantiated, the Interfax news agency said.
Gazprom is the majority shareholder in the project with a 51 percent stake. E.ON and German chemical firm BASF each hold 20 percent and the Dutch Gasunie owns 9 percent.
Analysts said the process for obtaining environmental approvals will push the launch date for Nord Stream beyond 2011.
Germany will receive around 971 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year from Russia, with capacity expected to reach 1.9 trillion cubic feet per year when a second stage of the pipeline is constructed.
