By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 13 -- Construction of the 917 km onshore portion of North European Gas Pipeline Co.'s (NEGP) pipeline to carry Siberian gas to Germany began Dec. 9 at Babayevo, Russia, 800 km east of St. Petersburg.
The 56-in. diameter onshore line will connect existing pipelines from Siberian gas fields with a planned transmission line across the Baltic Sea from Vyborg, Russia, to near Greifswald, Germany.
NEGP is a consortium of Russia's OAO Gazprom, with 51% interest, and Germany's BASF AG and E.ON AG, 24.5% each.
The onshore system will include seven compressor stations delivering an operating pressure of 100 bar.
The planned subsea pipeline will be longer than 1,200 km and have a diameter of 48 in. and an operating pressure of 210 bar.
When commissioned in 2010, the system capacity will be 27.5 billion cu m/year. A possible second pipeline would double capacity (OGJ Online, Sept. 21, 2005). Total capital expenditure for the offshore part of the project, if both pipelines are built, would exceed 4 billion euros.
NEGP said it will conduct further economic, technical, and ecological studies for construction of the subsea pipeline.
In other systems delivering Russian gas to Europe, expansion of the existing Jamal-Europe pipeline through Belarus and Poland has increased gas transport capacity to 29 billion cu m/year from 22 billion cu m/year. In a final expansion phase, capacity will increase further to 33 billion cu m following start-up of an additional compressor station in 2006.