"We are glad that we've managed to maintain our positions on traditional markets, primarily in Europe," Sechin said pointing out to recent agreements with PKN Orlen to increase deliveries to Poland and the Czech Republic.

Shipping 110bn m³/yr would cost Gazprom a quarter of the amount it would spend if it used Nord Stream, while booking capacity for 70bn m³/yr would still cost it only a third as much.

Gazprom's accumulated after-tax dividends will total USD 6.9 billion by 2045. Over the next 25 years, gas deliveries via Nord Stream 2 would be 2–2.7 times more economically efficient than the ones via Ukraine's GTS, which translates into USD 45–78 billion.

What determines dependence on Russian gas is what buyers buy, and the market decides that. Gas follows the price.

For us it is a principal issue. Gazprom has launched a programme to optimise expenses in the central corridor which now has free capacities which also cost us money. We will hence liquidate 4,300 km of pipes and close 62 compressor stations.

Nord Stream 2 will offer a secure, reliable connection to the world’s biggest gas reserves in Siberia, where investments from Russian and international energy companies over the last decades have ensured that the gas fields are amongst the most cost-effective sources from which to supply Europe. At the same time, Russian gas supplies are available and deliverable at short notice, making Russian piped gas the best option for Europe’s gas supply - economically and ecologically.

“We believe Nord Stream 2 is a good project, it provides infrastructure for importing gas to the EU, which will need. Russia is a major gas supplier to the EU.”

While in Germany and Austria, the promoters of Nord Stream 2 are quite outspoken, in the Netherlands and France, there is recognizable, but more silent support in government circles. Here, as well, the main line of argu­mentation is based on the added value of infrastructure di­versification and the neutrality of political actors on eco­nomic activity in the market.

Russia's Gazprom plans to export a record 165 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas to Europe this year, the company's deputy chief executive Alexander Medvedev told reporters on Thursday.

Over the last decade “many solutions had been tested and some, such as Europe’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), were only partially successful.”