Voice of Russia: Russia remains an energy superpower

Russia’s natural gas industry is successfully reducing its costs and has no plans to increase the price of its gas for domestic or foreign buyers. Prime Minister Putin spoke about this Friday after touring new energy projects near St Petersburg.

Appearing at a meeting of senior executives in the gas industry, he also emphasized the role of new export pipelines, including the Nord Stream, the first pipe of which has already connected northwestern Russia to northern Germany across the bed of the Baltic Sea: "This pipe has created a direct export route, which reduces the need for precarious overland transit. The second Nord Stream pipe is half-ready and should be completed on time. Once fully operational, the Nord Stream pipeline should pump 55 billion cubic metres each year. Russia remains a reliable global supplier of energy and values its reputation as such. It is also open to partnerships on energy projects, including in fields like investment, the infrastructure and geological exploration".  MORE