But despite a generally favorable funding environment for project finance and a strong shareholder base including several of Europe's top gas producers and off-takers, we believe raising multi-billion dollar project financing for Nord Stream 2 in the capital markets would probably be much harder now. This is because Western sanctions have significantly hindered international funding to Russian corporates, even those not directly sanctioned," Fitch reported. Gazprom signed a shareholder agreement on the Nord Stream expansion with Royal Dutch Shell, E.ON, OMV and Wintershall earlier this month. Gazprom, Wintershall and E.ON are shareholders in the existing 55 bcm capacity Nord Stream Lines 1 and 2 commissioned in November 2011 and October 2012.