Translated material
Pipe with privileges
E.ON Ruhrgas is preparing a route to receive gas from Nord Stream
Work on agreeing on a new gas transport corridor from Russia to Germany has also intensified on German territory. Gazprom officially began construction of the Russian onshore section back in December 2005. At the same time, Gazprom, E.ON Ruhrgas and Wintershall established a company to operate the offshore part of the pipeline, called Nord Stream . It was decided that project participants from Germany would ensure the construction of two main gas pipelines through which gas would flow along the bottom of the Baltic to European consumers.Yesterday the evening newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt informed residents of the region through which the route of one of these pipes - Nel - will be laid, some details of the construction preparations. It is assumed that Russian gas will go not only to the western part of Germany, but also further to the Netherlands and the UK.
Since September, E.ON Ruhrgas has been trying to agree on a project for a 130-kilometer section with local authorities, taking into account all the features of the territory and its infrastructure. There are 7,222 pipes to be laid here, each with a diameter of 1,200 mm and a length of 18 meters. They will be made of special steel capable of withstanding pressure up to 100 atmospheres. The route will pass at a depth of one meter, and 57 thousand tons of steel will be underground.
“We managed to plan this section of the future gas pipeline so that it will run mainly along the existing highway, as well as power lines and existing gas pipelines,” said Helmut Roloff, a representative of the operator company. “We submitted the project of the gas pipeline section for approval to local authorities and organizations, which will express their point of view to us.” And the authors of the project, he emphasized, will have to take into account these wishes and criticism.
However, the company expects that local authorities will not put a spoke in the wheels. The creation of infrastructure for gas supplies from Nord Stream, as well as the numerous wind energy parks built in this area, belongs to the category of “privileged construction projects”. Some local communities have already given a positive assessment, others have limited themselves to agreement by default. At the same time, E.ON Ruhrgas has plenty of time to find the optimal route and obtain all the necessary approvals. Construction work could begin in April 2011, Mr. Roloff said.
The international consortium Nord Stream and the German company Europipe signed an agreement on the supply of high-quality pipes for the construction of Nord Stream . As reported by ITAR-TASS , Europipe will supply about 75% of the pipes for the first stage of the 1,200-kilometer gas pipeline from the Russian Vyborg to the German Lubmin. And 25% of the pipes needed for the construction of this section will be ordered from the United Metallurgical Company, which will manufacture them at the plant in Vyksa. The order from Europipe, whose plants operate in Germany, France, Brazil and the USA, provides for the production of 860 thousand tons of high-quality steel pipes. Nord Stream is allocating over 1 billion euros for these purposes; deliveries will be completed before 2010. Moreover, by the start of gas pipeline construction in 2009, approximately a third of the total volume of pipes should be delivered, i.e. more than 400 km. Six enterprises from Germany, Russia and Japan participated in the tender for the supply of pipes.