Gazprom: Nord Stream nearly ready

Russian energy company Gazprom said it was close to completing the steps needed to feed natural gas into its Nord Stream pipeline through the Baltic Sea."Currently, testing 'under load' of the gas treatment unit to feed gas into Nord Stream is completed," the company said in a statement Wednesday. "The feeding is scheduled for this September and constitutes a necessary process stage before commissioning of the gas treatment and gas compressor units that will provide for gas supply to consumers."Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Ananenkov met with engineers in St. Petersburg to review construction of pipelines feeding Nord Stream and main gas compressor stations.The pipeline consortium from Switzerland said last month that more than 400 miles of the second line of the twin natural gas pipeline has been constructed. The consortium had said work on the second pipeline was moving along at a pace of about 4 miles per day.Tests were conducted to make sure both pipelines can stand up to operating pressure.Russia aims to diversify its European transit options for natural gas through Nord Stream. Disputes with Kiev make Russia's conventional European routes for natural gas risky.Nord Stream is designed to carry enough natural gas to meet the demands of 26 million homes. Construction of the second leg will be finished by the end of 2012.