The Nord Stream 2 AG company is preparing the finished first line of to its eponymous pipeline be filled with gas from Friday, though it will be several months still until gas can flow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week announced that the pipes of the first line had been laid; the welding of two ends in the sea still had to be completed, but now the pipeline from Lubmin in north-eastern Germany to Russia is continuous, the company said.
Work on the second line is ongoing. Putin said at the same time last week that it could be done in two months, and the Russian government has repeatedly said the pipeline could be done before year's end.
The Nord Stream 2 is to deliver 55 billion cubic metres of gas from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany when it's finally complete.
The multibillion-dollar project is likely to come up when US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet face-to-face for the first time on the sidelines of the G7 summit beginning on Friday.
US opposed the project
Last month, the US government partially abandoned its years-long opposition to the pipeline and waived sanctions against the operating company, partly out of consideration for relations with Germany.
The United States fears that the project will make Europe too dependent on Russian gas. Supporters counter that the US is only looking for opportunities to sell its own liquefied gas in Europe.
