Nord Stream 2 Funding Model May Be Determined by Late June

Wintershall company CEO Mario Mehren says that companies engaged in implementation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project may determine its funding model by the end of the first half of 2017.

HOUSTON (Sputnik) — Companies engaged in implementation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project may determine its funding model by the end of the first half of 2017, Wintershall company CEO Mario Mehren said Wednesday.

"I am pretty confident that we will find the solution to support the project not only morally but also financially," Mehren told reporters on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas.

"Hopefully, yes," Mehren said when asked whether the funding model may be determined by the end of the first half on 2017.

Nord Stream 2, a joint venture of Russia’s Gazprom with France's Engie, Austria’s OMV AG, Royal Dutch Shell, Germany's Uniper and Wintershall, will bring an estimated 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea, while bypassing Ukraine. The launch of the pipeline is planned for 2018.

Wintershall is Germany's largest crude oil and natural gas producer and a subsidiary of the chemical group BASF