Nord Stream, the consortium building a Baltic Sea gas pipeline between Germany and Russia, said one-third of any extra costs associated with the project will be injected by the consortium member companies according to their equity stake in the venture.

Russia's OAO Gazprom owns a 51-percent stake in the consortium with Germany's BASF SE and E.ON AG each holding 24.5 percent.

Nord Stream managing director Matthias Warnig told Wirtschafts-Woche, in an interview to be published Saturday, that the remainder of any additional costs will be financed through loans.

Initially, investment costs for the pipeline were put at 4.5 billion eur. Warnig previously said costs will significantly exceed 5 billion eur due to roaring steel prices.

Warnig said the consortium is currently assessing costs and is working on the financing. He said talks on the financing are under way with Societe Generale, ABN Amro and Dresdner Kleinwort.

He said public financing of the project is not an option for Nord Stream.

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Related Project
Nord Stream Pipeline
Facility Type: Pipeline Owner: Nord Stream AG
Scope: New Construction Location: Vyborg, Russia to Greifswald, Germany Russian Federation