On February 10, 2010 Helsinki hosted the Baltic Sea Action Summit. Among the members of the Russian delegation led by Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation was Stanislav Tsygankov, Head of the Gazprom International Business Department.

Taking part in the Summit were heads of states and governments from the countries concerned, international institutions and businesses. The discussion centered on the issues related to protecting the unique ecosystem of the Baltic Sea, in particular, the environmental aspects of the Nord Stream gas pipeline construction.

Background:

The Nord Stream gas pipeline is a fundamentally new route of Russian gas export to Europe. The target markets for gas supply via the Nord Stream are Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, France and Denmark. The 1,223-kilometer Nord Stream gas pipeline will cross the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea from the Portovaya Bay directly to the German coast (Greifswald). The annual capacity of the gas pipeline will reach 55 billion cubic meters. In 2005 Nord Stream AG was set up in Switzerland to engineer, construct and operate the gas pipeline.

At present, Nord Stream AG shareholdings are split in the following way: Gazprom – 51 per cent, Wintershall Holding AG – 20 per cent, E.ON Ruhrgas AG – 20 per cent, Gasunie – 9 per cent.