Baltic Sea gas pipeline project facing big difficulties

Russia and Germany not expected to back down

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If the planned a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is set up on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, it will be a sign of considerable political determination. So many problems have cropped up over the pipeline, that they would have led to the cancellation of many other projects.
      Reactions to the Nordstream pipeline have included concerns about security in the Baltic Sea area, and especially about Russia. Supporters of the project focus primarily on economic reasons, while opponents mainly cite environmental issues. Politics is a a key factor on both sides.
      The political significance of the pipeline is reflected in the fact that many Finnish experts and officials interviewed by Helsingin Sanomat wanted to remain anonymous.
     
Opposition to the pipeline, especially in the Baltic countries and Poland, is closely linked with how the present project emerged. The matter was agreed by Gerhard Schröder, who was the German Chancellor at the time, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. When he stepped down from his position as Chancellor, Schröder got a spot on the board of Nordstream. This brought back memories of 1939 in Poland and the Baltic countries.
      Environmental impact evaluations of the project as a whole, and of the implications for each country the pipeline would pass by, are currently under way. The rejection of any one of the reports will affect all of the others as well.
      Nevertheless, Nordstream is confident that the pipeline will come to fruition. Gas deliveries through the pipeline are expected to begin in the spring of 2011, said Sebastian Sass on Friday.
     
One Finnish expert who has monitored the project noted that knowing how the Russia of President Vladimir Putin operates, Russia will not back down on the project, nor will Germany.
      Backing down on the underwater pipeline would mean setting up a new pipeline overland. One of the main reasons for the current project is Russia’s aversion to an overland pipeline.
     
Finland is watching the project closely, but is taking a low profile on the matter.
      The proposed pipeline would pass through 400 kilometres of the Finnish economic zone near Finland’s territorial waters.
      Compared with the attitude taken by many other countries on the Baltic Sea, Finland takes a fairly positive view of the project. However, Finnish experts agree that the project is in "great difficulties".
      According to the Finnish observers, the difficulties involve both the linkage between environmental concerns and political suspicions, and the perception that Gazprom, the Russian partner in the venture, is taking an indifferent view of the environmental studies.
     
Finnish sources say that Finland could topple the project on environmental grounds. So far, Nordstream has not agreed to making a thorough study on a possible southerly route for the pipeline.
      If the pipeline is to be rejected, officials in Helsinki hope that some other country, such as Sweden, might take the first step.
      The cancellation of the project, which has been personally linked with President Putin, would lead to a cooling of relations between the EU and Russia, which would also be likely to have an impact on Finland.
     
Pressure on the relationship is already mounting, as the overland part of the pipeline is reaching the Russian seashore on the Gulf of Finland near the Finnish border, while the routing on the sea bottom is still a matter of dispute, says one Finnish official.
      However, Finland does not have any official concerns on the political consequences of the construction of the pipeline. Finland has also had a number of different natural gas projects underway with Russia for a long time.
      "When there’s already a 1,200 kilometre land border with Russia, the pipeline will not bring any great changes", one expert says.
     
The situation is quite different for Sweden, which has looked at Russia from a somewhat greater distance.
      However, now the pipeline is coming very close to the island of Gotland.
      The pipeline would pass through the Swedish economic zone for a much longer distance than through that of Finland. The benefits for Sweden would be minimal, as it has tended to shun natural gas as a source of energy.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Swedish government sends back Nord Stream gas pipeline application, demands clarification on environmental impact (13.2.2008)
  Cost of Baltic Sea gas pipeline looks to be higher than expected (8.1.2008)
  Estonian Foreign Minister wants Russia-Germany gas pipeline to run on land (29.10.2007)

Links:
  Nord Stream (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat