Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Nord Stream Pipeline

Mains level: Not Much

Germany has warned about severe consequences for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany if Moscow attacked Ukraine.

It is a system of offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
It includes two active pipelines running from Vyborg to Lubmin near Greifswald forming the original Nord Stream, and two further pipelines under construction running from Ust-Luga to Lubmin termed Nord Stream 2.
In Lubmin the lines connect to the OPAL line to Olbernhau on the Czech border and to the NEL line to Rehden near Bremen.
The first line Nord Stream-1 was laid and inaugurated in 2011 and the second line in 2012.
At 1,222 km in length, Nord Stream is the longest sub-sea pipeline in the world, surpassing the Langeled pipeline.

The US believed that the project would increase Europe’s dependence on Russia for natural gas.
Currently, EU countries already rely on Russia for 40 percent of their gas needs.
The project also has opponents in eastern Europe, especially Ukraine, whose ties with Russia have seriously deteriorated in the aftermath of the Crimean conflict in 2014.
There is an existing land pipeline between Russia and Europe that runs through Ukraine.
The country feels that once Nord Storm 2 is completed, Russia could bypass the Ukrainian pipeline, and deprive it of lucrative transit fees of around $3 billion per year.
Ukraine also fears another invasion by Russia once the new pipeline is operational.

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