The Austrian oil and gas company OMV will continue to finance the Nord Stream 2 project with Russia despite growing criticism on behalf of Ukraine and the Baltic states, the company's Chief Executive Officer Rayner Zele told Sputnik on Monday. Zele added that OMV already invested $607 million in the project agreed between Russia's Gazprom and five European companies including the Austrian energy giant, but said that next year's funding will "depend on the demands of the Nord Stream 2 operator."
Zele added that OMV and Gazprom are planning to conclude a deal on assets exchange in the first three months of next year. According to the agreement, OMV is expected to get a 24.98% stake in the fourth and fifth blocks of the Urengoy gas field, while Gazprom is to get 38.5% in OMV Norge AS.
The Nord Stream 2 project, a major point of contempt between the United States and its European allies, is expected to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas annually to the EU through the Baltic Sea and Germany.
