The world's largest gas firm said in a memorandum for investors ahead of its Eurobond issue that its Nord Stream pipeline to Germany under the Baltic Sea would cost 7.4 billion euros ($11.7 billion), up from the previous estimate of 5 billion euros.


Germany's former chancellor and chairman of the Nord Stream consortium, Gerhard Schroeder, has said it may cost over 8 billion euros to build the pipeline, which will ultimately ship 55 billion cubic metres of Russian gas to Europe via two links.

But the consortium, which also includes Germany's BASF and E.ON, as well as Dutch Gasunie, has so far declined to confirm the figure, saying it was awaiting a final valuation.