MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator...

There are now no serious obstacles in meeting the deadline to bring the pipeline on line by 2011. The plans to diversify Russia"s gas supplies to Europe are beginning to take shape.

The 1,200 kilometer long Nord Stream gas pipeline on the Baltic seabed will link the Russian town of Vyborg with the German town of Greifswald. The first trunkline, with a projected capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually, is due to be completed by late 2011, with the second trunkline of similar capacity planned for 2012. The project operator is Nord Stream AG, in which Gazprom owns 51%, the German Wintershall and E.On Ruhrgas 20% each, and the Dutch Gasunie 9%. In the near future, the French GdF SUEZ may also enter the project.

The Nord Stream pipeline will pass through the waters of Finland, Sweden, Russia and Germany.

It took Nord Stream AG four years to receive construction permits from the countries concerned. The project operator spent 100 million euros on environmental

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