Yamal Pipeline in Belarus

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Yamal gas pipeline consisted in 2,500-mile transmission pipeline system that will transport gas from Yamal, Western Siberia, to Western Europe. The project will consist of two parallel pipelines running from Yamal to Frankfurt/Oder, Germany via Belarus and Poland. Yamal gas pipeline is the cornerstone of Gazprom's strategy. The estimated project cost is $35 billion of which $12 billion will be invested in the development of the gas fields. The first pipeline will be fully operational in 1999. If the project is late, Gazprom would have to start paying penalties. The second pipeline will be completed in 2010. The construction of each line was divided into four main sections which, in turn, are divided in several parts. The four main parts are the Russian, Belarussian, Polish, and German. The Russian section is being developed by Gazprom. The project consists of the Belarussian section of the Yamal pipeline with a length of 575km. Currently under construction (started October 23, 1996), the pipeline is a joint project between Gazprom and the Belarussian state-owned pipeline company Beltransgaz. Financing comes partly from outstanding Belarussian gas payment debts of about $500 million. By June 1997, some 1,200 km of the first circuit of the 4000 km pipeline moostly near fields in Yamal and in Belarus had reached an advanced stage of construction. (Note: it is here listed as a separate project since it has a legal identity different from the Polish section and is built by a consortium of companies, and not, as in Russia, Gazprom alone). None None