Nord Stream AG
Gerhard Schröder, Chairman of the Shareholders' Committee
Nord Stream AG plans, builds and operates the Nord Stream pipeline to transport natural gas from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany.
History
The company was (English: North European Gas Pipeline Company ) on 2 December 2005 as a North European gas line company incorporated and registered in train in the Swiss commercial register as a limited company under Swiss law under the name NEGP Company. It was renamed in October 2006 in Nord Stream AG. In the choice of the new name is based on the names of other major submarine gas pipelines such as the Blue Stream across the Black Sea to Turkey and the Green Stream in the Mediterranean.
The leading Russian gas company Gazprom holds a 51% majority stake. Wintershall, a subsidiary of BASF and E.ON Ruhrgas each brought in 24.5%. On 6 November 2007 it was announced that the Dutch Gasunie goes with 9% in the Baltic Sea pipeline. Gasunie receives these shares in the joint venture equally by E.ON Ruhrgas and BASF subsidiary Wintershall, whose share of 24.5 % so that drops to 20%. The Russian Gazprom remains a 51% majority shareholder. Currently Gazprom continues to hold a 51% stake, Wintershall and E.ON Ruhrgas hold 15.5 % and Gasunie and French GDF Suez 9% each of the shares.
Activities - design, construction and operation of the Nord Stream
The Nord Stream pipeline is to be laid over 1,200 kilometers through the Baltic Sea from Vyborg, Russia, west of St. Petersburg to the vicinity of Greifswald on the German Baltic coast. There are planned two strands of wire with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The two undersea pipes have a length of 1200 mm. The wall thickness of steel tubes is 27 mm to 41 mm. The gas delivery pressure is up to 100 bar. Before laying the pipes are encased in a concrete shell and sunk by a special ship.
On 9 December 2005 began in Babayevo about 350 kilometers east of St. Petersburg, the construction work on the land section of the pipeline between Vyborg and Gryazovets where the North is tied Stream to existing gas pipelines from Western Siberia. On the natural gas production areas in North-West Russia, Nord Stream is connected by a 917 km long pipeline on the Russian mainland, whose construction began in 2006.
Was officially started with a direct connection between the Russian and the German coast on April 9, 2010 with the construction of the pipeline through the Baltic Sea. The first pipeline is planned to transport up end of 2011, the first natural gas to Europe.
The project provides for the possibility to pass gas from the Nord Stream Germany in other Western European countries such as the Netherlands and the UK.
The cost of the entire project is estimated at around six billion euros.
Management
The management consists of the Shareholders' Committee and of the Board.
The Shareholders' Committee ( " Shareholders Committee " ) has tasks that are comparable to those of the supervisory board of a stock corporation under German law. He shall, in particular with the policy guidelines of the company and appoints the CEO.
Chairman of the comprehensive eight members of the shareholder committee as one of four representatives of Gazprom, the former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. The remaining representatives of Gazprom in the Shareholders' Committee are the Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, the Director General of the export gas Gazprom subsidiary Gazpromexport Alexander Medvedev and Wlada Russakowa. E.ON Ruhrgas and Wintershall each appoint two members of the Shareholders' Committee.
Managing Director of Nord Stream Matthias Warnig. He since 1990, previously worked for Dresdner Bank, for which he established a representative office in St. Petersburg since 1991. He made the acquaintance of the future Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was responsible for the approval of the representative office in the city government.
During the initial phase of the North European Gas Line Company 2005 Zug business lawyer Urs home army was the only director of the NEGP. House army was called in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung in connection with business of the State Security of the GDR to the western bypass goods to supply. He was from 1987 to 1990 Board of Directors of Asada AG (" trading commodities and technical products' ), the contacts with the Ministry of State Security and Schalk - Golodkowskis area Commercial Coordination ( CoCo) was in the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the GDR. This area was responsible for the procurement of foreign currency to secure the solvency of the GDR. Mansion army denied that it had any knowledge of such transactions.
Interests and criticism of the Nord Stream
The pipeline not only touches interests of the companies involved, the natural gas supplying country Russia and the recipient country Germany as well as possible other recipient countries. Are also affected interests of the states that are bypassed with the transport through the Baltic Sea as a transit states on the mainland ( Belarus, Poland, Ukraine). Finally, concerns the construction, which runs almost the entire Baltic Sea, particularly due to environmental impacts, the other countries bordering the Baltic Sea.
Interests of Germany and the European Union
Germany Secures thanks to the Baltic Sea pipeline to connect directly to the Russian gas reserves. The gas must not be routed through other countries such as Belarus, Poland and Ukraine. Possible political or economic disputes between Russia and transit countries can not compromise the security of supplies to Germany.
Critics, however, that the natural gas supply in Germany is even stronger from the current main suppliers dependent on Russia. The increasing dependence mountains not only the risk of price increases by Russia, but Germany also make political blackmail.
Roland Götz, Russia expert at the Berlin Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, in contrast, has an interview with the manager magazine pointed out that Russia - compared with the alternatives, which has Germany - one of the most reliable partner. Outside Europe would offer for Germany only supplier of that " must be provided at least with a question mark - whether Algeria, Libya or Iran ." For Russia there is no real alternative. Theoretically, could exert political pressure Russia. But he did not believe that it will do so. Not even during the Cold War it had its energy exports used as a "weapon ". It would thus only harm themselves. About 90 percent of Russian gas exports would be delivered to Western Europe. Especially by energy supplies to Europe deserve Russia foreign exchange.
The European Union supports the construction of the Nord Stream. It considers the line as a priority energy project of European interest and classified it in December 2000 as a so-called TEN project ( TEN: Trans European Network ). This status was confirmed in mid-2006.
Interests of Russia
Russia opens up an additional transport route for its gas exports to Western Europe and without passage through third countries. This eliminates the risk that transit countries illegally or not pass on Russian deliveries only partially and consume itself. At the same time Russia gas supplies to Central and Eastern Europe to use in future easier as a political and economic pressure. Russia will continue to Central and Eastern European countries can be cut off from its gas supply without negative effects on Western European customers, as far as the Western European states can obtain replacement supplies through the Nord Stream line. Also Western European consumer countries affected - So far, however, were in supply disruption Russia - for example, when gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia's position in negotiations with the transit countries on the transit fees and the prices of their purchases gas volumes is strengthened by the construction of the Nord Stream. It should be noted, however, that the capacity of Nord Stream initially only 27.5 billion cubic meters, and in the final stage around 55 billion cubic meters will be. Natural gas supplies through the existing pipelines through Ukraine (capacity according to the German Institute for Economic Research: around 140 billion cubic meters ) and through Belarus and Poland ( natural gas pipeline Yamal-Europe ) with a capacity of around 33 billion cubic meters ) could at best partially into the Nord Stream be relocated.
Criticism of the Nord Stream
Construction of the Nord Stream is especially criticized by States, conducted by the far the Russian gas exports to Western Europe (eg Poland). They fear a worsening of their negotiating positions in negotiating the conditions for the supply of Russian natural gas in their countries and the transit fees, as Western Europe is connected by the Nord Stream directly with Russia and Russia in the future may reduce easier deliveries in the transit countries, without thereby also the deliveries to reduce to Western Europe.