Bullish Nord Stream marches on

The consortium building the line has received approval from Finland, the last of the Baltic littoral states to give the green light, to allow its passage through the country's waters. The first phase of construction should see exports begin in late 2011. A second phase, due on stream a year later, will take capacity to 55bn cubic metres a year (cm/y). Nord Stream says the project is on schedule and on budget. Investment will amount to 7.4bn ($10.1bn). The funding for the project is almost in place, too. Project finance of $6.4bn should close in the first quarter, says Paul Corcoran, the consortium's finance director. The arrangement with 27 banks was 60% oversubscribed, he says. If that mak