All three sections of the first line of the Nord Stream gas pipeline have been laid and will be joined together underwater off the coast of Finland and Sweden this summer, Nord Stream AG said in a press release.
The last segment was laid from the pipelay vessel Castoro Sei on May 4, at the 674th kilometer of the pipeline route from Russia.
The pipeline sections will be joined together at two points: in the Gulf of Finland in waters about 80 meters deep (before summer) and near the coast of Gotland at a depth of 110 meters (in summer). "Each of the three sections is gauged and thoroughly pressure-tested before being joined together and linked to the landfalls in Russia and Germany," the press release says. "The pre-commissioning activities for Line 1 have started as planned. For the offshore sections 1 and 2, cleaning, gauging and pressure testing have already been successfully completed. The pressure test for section 3 will now follow the mechanical completion of pipe laying. On the site of the German landfall all piping has been completed and successfully pressure tested. For the Russian landfall site pressure testing is expected by the end of May after completion of all welding works. Further rigorous testing will be carried out on the whole system before it becomes operational in the last quarter of 2011," it says.
Gas deliveries on the pipeline are slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2011. The first line will have capacity to ship 27.5 bcm of gas a year. The main buyers will be WINGAS (9 bcm a year), Gazprom Marketing and Trading (6 bcm), E.ON Ruhrgas (4 bcm), GDF Suez (2.5 bcm) and DONG (1 bcm). In addition, some Nord Stream gas will be delivered to the Czech Republic as transit volumes are redirected away from Ukraine.
"The pipelay vessel which has laid most of Line 1, Saipem’s Castoro Sei, is now en route to Turku in Finland, where it will undergo extensive maintenance before resuming pipe laying for Line 2, which is scheduled for completion in spring 2012. Saipem’s subcontractor Allseas with the pipelay vessel Solitaire will again lay the Gulf of Finland section," it says. When both lines are completed, Nord Stream will have capacity to ship 55 bcm of gas a year from Russia to Europe.
"At a time when recent world events have led to increased concern about nuclear energy and energy imports from North Africa, our major new infrastructure project takes on more importance for both Europe and Russia," Managing Director Matthias Warnig is quoted in the press release as saying.
"No other major new pipeline with a capacity over 10 bcm is expected to come on-stream before 2015," the press release says.
