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Nord Stream 2 has laid the second line of its gas pipeline project in the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone, completing the installation of twin gas pipelines in the Finnish waters. So far, the company has laid more than 1,800 km of gas pipelines in Finnish, Russian, Swedish and German waters and expects to flow first gas by the end of 2019.

The €9.5bn (US$11bn) Nord Stream 2 project is aimed at doubling the throughput of the current Nord Stream route between Vyborg (Russia) and Greifswald (Germany), from 55 bcm/year to 110 bcm/year. It is developed by Gazprom (50%), Uniper, Shell, OMV, Wintershall and Engie (10% each).

Denmark is the sole country that has not yet issued a construction permit and the consortium is locking horns with the European Commission on EU gas rules. In late July 2019, NordStream 2 brought an action for annulment before the General Court of the European Union, over the Directive (EU) 2019/692 amending the EU Gas Directive that requires gas pipelines not to be owned directly by gas suppliers and to make render available to third parties at least 10% of capacity. In addition, Nord Stream 2 is considering proceeding separately with arbitration against the European Union pursuant to the investment protection guarantees of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).

Shell has made an A$617 m (US$419m) takeover bid for ERM Power Ltd, making its first entrance in the country’s power market. ERM is the second biggest electricity supplier in Australia, with a nearly 25% share of the commercial and industrial retail market and two gas-fired power plants.

RWE has acquired Innogy’s 49% stake in the Slovak power company Východoslovenská energetika Holding (VSEH), whose subsidiaries are active in electricity supply and distribution in Slovakia. VSEH (now 49% RWE, 51% Ministry of Economy) is mainly present in eastern Slovakia around Kosice. VSEH distributed over 3.8 TWh and sold 3.06 TWh of electricity in 2017, and 6.6 TWh of gas.

According to the Algerian minister of Energy, the country intends to launch a solar project with a capacity of 5.6 GW to boost national power supply in the coming years. The project will be carried by Algerian companies through all its stages. No further details were provided. …

The power transmission system operators (TSOs) of Norway (Statnett), Sweden (Svenska Kraftnat), Finland (Fingrid) and Denmark (Energinet.dk) plan to invest more than €15bn in their power grids by 2028. Additional investments will be required to improve the integration of renewable power generation sources in the regional grid from 2030 to 2040. …

Equatorial Guinea has awarded contracts for the development of an LNG import, regasification and storage terminal at the mainland port of Akonikien. Local construction and engineering firm Elite Construcciones will build the plant, which will include a 14,000 m3 storage capacity (twelve 1,230 m3 tanks). …

Jimah East Power, the joint venture of Malaysian state-run power company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) (70%), Mitsui (15%) and Chugoku Electric (15%), has commissioned the first 1,000 MW unit of the Jimah East ultra-supercritical (USC) coal-fired power plant in Port Dickson in the state of Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia).

Canadian project company Trans Mountain Corp has restarted the construction of the controversial 1,150-km Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion, which is fiercely opposed by environmental and some indigenous groups.