Moscow Times: Gazprom Claims EU Hampers Nord Stream

European Union regulations are hampering Gazprom's use of its Nord Stream subsea gas pipeline, the Russian firm's deputy chief executive said on Thursday, demanding full access to an inland transit link.

Gazprom would continue to pressure the EU to lift restrictions on its use of the Opal pipeline meant to transport gas from a northern German landing point for Nord Stream's Siberian gas to the Czech Republic, Alexander Medvedev said.

"This results in Nord Stream being only half full, while in the winter we have had to use gas from storage to reach our customers," he told reporters, in the latest complaint by the Russian company against EU efforts to stop suppliers from dominating transport networks.

"We hope that reason and logic will prevail as pipelines should not lay idle. It is also a precedent for South Stream," he added in reference to the pipeline Russia is building under the Black Sea, due to be completed by 2015.  MORE