Russia is extending a gas pipeline that bypasses Ukraine
Gazprom announced on Thursday that it plans to build a pipeline with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea with E.ON, Shell, and OMV, according to Kommersant.
The planned pipeline's route will be an extension to the Nord Stream, Gazprom's representative Sergey Kupriyanov told journalists, adding to the direct route that supplies Russian gas directly to Western Europe.
Russia, which supplies Europe with about 1/3 of its gas, has been actively seeking new ways to bring gas to Europe by circumventing Ukraine.
The project is designed to bypass Ukraine, which would allow Russia to both maintain its gas leverage over the EU and hurt Kiev.
In 2014, "Gazprom" has exported 191.5 billion cubic meters of gas, 12% less than in 2013, according to Lenta.Ru.
In other Russian gas news, the Turkish Stream's construction through the Black Sea is set to begin in June-July 2015, according to TASS.
"It is expected that the Turkish-Greek border will create a gas hub and EU countries will build their own infrastructure for receiving fuel on its territory," according to Lenta.Ru.
