Record summer for Norwegian gas

Gassco, which runs the Norwegian gas infrastructure, exported 36.8 billion m3 in May - August – a small rise from the same period of 2017, which was a record year for gas exports.

“The basis for these high deliveries is naturally European and British demand for Norwegian gas as a secure and reliable energy source,” says Gassco CEO Frode Leversund.

“Not only has Norway’s continental shelf delivered larger volumes than before, but the transport system has also handled these increased quantities well.”

More gas is usually exported in the winter months, when demand for space heating increases, but this summer’s sales have almost matched a normal winter level.

Gassco transported 117.4 billion m³ through the pipeline systems from Norway to continental Europe and the UK during 2017. This was clearly the highest volume sold in 40 years of Norwegian gas exports, and nine times Norway’s annual hydropower output.

“It’s too early to say exactly where we’ll end up this year, but we expect another good performance which will be roughly on a par with the 2017 record,” says Leversund.

New gas province Gassco expects to receive the first gas through the new Polarled pipeline later this year. Running from the Aasta Hansteen field to the Nyhamna processing plant on the west coast, this facility will open a new gas region in the Norwegian Sea.

“Polarled gives us a complete gas motorway from the Norwegian Sea to Europe,” says Leversund. “As operator of both Polarled and Nyhamna, we expect great interest in this region from a number of players. Our strong summer deliveries strengthen that belief.”

Gassco is the operator for the Norwegian gas infrastructure, which includes pipelines, processing plants in Norway, and terminals in Germany, Belgium, France and the UK.

Polarled in brief:

• 482 km gas pipeline running from the Nyhamna gas processing plant near Molde on Norway’s west coast to the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea. It is 36 in. in diameter.
• The first gas pipeline on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) to cross the Arctic Circle.
• Owned by the Polarled Joint Venture, with Gassco as operator.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/21092018/record-summer-for-norwegian-gas/