NordStream underwater pipeline gains "ground"

In face of the recent opposition of European Parliament to the Nord-Stream project out of environmental grounds, it is growing real, as Saipem has signed a contract to lay a part of the pipeline and have it ready by 2011. Being 43% owned by Italian energy giant Eni SpA, Saipem enter along to the dutch Gasunie (which gets 9% in the joint enterprise, reducing the shares of E.On Ruhrgas and Wintershall Holding to 20% each, while Gazprom keeps its 51% stake) its broadening the european interest-block in Nord-Stream.

Perhaps, if there were some business open for Baltics and Poland, the naive public may expect environmental concerns to be lifted. Of course this is not the case, as this EU Parliament statement was made to question NordStream , alas still short on alternatives in its Energy strategy.