Pipeliners

23 December, 2008 – Upstream – GDF Suez confirmed today it was keen to take a stake in the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. Russia's Gazprom said on Monday the French energy group had expressed interest in taking a minority stake in the pipeline, which is due to start by the end of 2011, during a meeting between Gazprom and GDF Suez executives. "I can confirm that we are interested," a GDF Suez spokeswomam told Reuters. "We have always said we were interested in taking part in big infrastructure projects," she added. GDF Suez was unsuccessful in becoming the sixth partner for the Nabucco gas pipeline project, which aims to pump Caspian gas to Europe and is described as the rival project to Nord Stream. "We are only in the preliminary stages," she added. GDF Suez plans to buy up to 2.5 billion cubic metres of gas per year from Nord Stream, which would run 1200 kilometres from Vyborg in Russia to Greifswald in Germany under the Baltic sea. Nord Stream, majority owned by Russian gas monopoly Gazprom , is building the pipeline with Germany's BASF and E.ON and has plans to build two parallel gas pipelines of 1200 kilometres each. Dutch state pipeline operator Gasunie has joined the project, taking a 9% stake from the German partners.