MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF subsidiary Wintershall intends to participate in expanding the capacities of the Nord Stream pipeline, which delivers Russian natural gas to European customers via the Baltic Sea, reported BASF on its site.
A Memorandum of Understanding to this effect was signed on 31 July 2015. This expansion of the Nord Stream pipeline will consist of two additional pipelines that could transport up to 55 billion additional cubic meters of Russian natural gas directly to Germany.
"Together with our partners, we successfully created the Nord Stream gas transportation corridor, which is unparalleled in the world. In view of the rising demand for gas across the whole of Europe, the expansion of the gas transportation infrastructure, which provides a direct link from the Russian gas deposits to the European markets, will help to further improve the security of the gas supply for the European continent," stated Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of PJSC Gazprom.
"BASF and Gazprom have been cooperating for more than 20 years on the construction of pipelines to ensure secure supplies of Russian gas to Europe. We want to bring our expertise in this field to the expansion of Nord Stream and look forward to working with Gazprom and further European partners on this important infrastructure project," said Hans-Ulrich Engel, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.
In addition to Gazprom, E.ON, OMV and Shell have declared their intention to participate in the construction of the two additional lines of the Nord Stream pipeline.
The first two lines of Nord Stream, in which the BASF subsidiary Wintershall has a 15.5% stake, have been operational since October 2012.
As MRC wrote previously, in early 2014, Shell and Gazprom Neft kicked off pilot shale oil exploration under their joint venture partnership in Siberia.
Wintershall Holding GmbH, based in Kassel, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF in Ludwigshafen. The company has been active in the extraction of natural resources for 120 years, and in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas for over 80 years. Wintershall focuses on selected core regions, where the company has built up a high level of regional and technological expertise. These are Europe, Russia, North Africa, South America, and increasingly the Middle East region.
BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas and one of the largest companies in the world.
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