Janine Bailey

Nord Stream AG

Nord Stream AG, based in Zug, Switzerland, is an international consortium of five major companies established in 2005 for the planning, construction and subsequent operation of two 1,224-kilometre natural gas pipelines through the Baltic Sea. The five shareholders of the Nord Stream consortium are Gazprom international projects North 1 LLC (PJSC Gazprom subsidiary), Wintershall Dea AG (formerly Wintershall Holding GmbH), PEG Infrastruktur AG (E.ON), N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie and ENGIE. Gazprom international projects North 1 LLC holds a 51 percent stake in the pipeline project. Leading German energy companies Wintershall Dea AG and PEGI/E.ON hold 15.5 percent each, and the Dutch natural gas infrastructure company N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, along with the leading French energy provider ENGIE, each hold a 9 percent stake. The combined experience of these companies ensures the best technology, safety and corporate governance for the Nord Stream project, which aims to provide a secure energy supply for Europe. Nord Stream AG owns and operates the Nord Stream 1 pipeline system which the EU designated in 2006 a "Project of European Interest". This inclusion in the Trans-European Network Guidelines (TEN-E) of the EU recognized Nord Stream AG and its asset Nord Stream 1 as a key project for meeting Europe's energy infrastructure needs. The twin pipelines, which have been operational since 2011 and 2012 respectively, have the capacity to transport a combined total of about 55 bcm of gas a year – that's enough to satisfy the energy demand of more than 26 million European households.