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Friday, 29.03.2024, 15:07
Estonia: Pipeline installation of the offshore part of Balticconnector to begin
All the offshore pipes – more than 6,400 in number – with a total weight of 36,000 tons have arrived in the Port of Paldiski from Greece. The ship installing the offshore pipeline, Lorelay, arrived in the Port of Paldiski on 16th of May and sailed from there to the southside of Skämmö Island in Inkoo, Finland. The installation work of the pipeline begins today 20th of May 2019 and the pipeline installation will progress at a rate of 2–3 kilometres per day towards Estonia.
Pipe post-lay intervention work will begin
in June and progress in parallel with pipelay operations. The installation work
will be ready in July and after that the offshore pipeline will undergo
pressure testing after which it will be dried and connected to the onshore
pipelines in Finland and Estonia.
“The
offshore pipeline is a crucial part of the Balticconnector pipeline and we are
happy to start the pipeline installation as planned”, says Tom Främling, Project Director of Baltic Connector Oy.
“It is a
great pleasure to note that our project proceeds according to the schedule.
Connecting the offshore pipe to the onshore pipelines in Finland and Estonia
will intertwine all the project’s construction sites together and will mark the
integration of Finnish and Estonian gas markets. The completion of this phase
of the project will ensure opening of the Balticconnector-pipeline and
consequently also the Finnish gas market at the beginning of 2020”, says Herkko Plit, President and CEO of Baltic Connector Oy.
“As of
today I can assure that the goal Elering
set up during acquiring the Estonian gas transmission network to launch the
Finnish-Baltic gas market in 2020, will be met. That brings greater security of
supply, more effective market and presumably better price for consumers,” says Taavi Veskimägi, Chairman of the Board
and CEO of Elering AS.
The construction work of the Finnish onshore parts has
progressed as planned. The onshore pipeline welding will be ready in June and
mechanical completion will be in August. Inkoo compressor station construction
works also progress as planned and mechanical completion will be also reached
in August. Test runs with gas will start in September and the onshore parts in
Finland will be ready for commercial operation in December 2019.
The construction
of the Estonian onshore part of Balticconnector has proceeded in schedule and
92% of the welding work and 90% of the insulation work has been completed, and
34 kilometres of pipeline has been trenched. The construction of Paldiski and
Puiatu compressor stations has commenced. The current progress allows operating
the pipeline at a reduced capacity already in the beginning of 2020.