Prep work for the Balticconnector pipeline completed

“This was a very important phase to complete so that the actual pipelaying can begin as scheduled at the end of May,” states Project Manager Tom Främling with satisfaction.

The first pipes have, at the same time, been delivered to the Paldiski South Harbour and the last of the pipes are being loaded in Greece and will be delivered before the end of April.

The summer will be a busy time in terms of offshore pipe installation. In May, a winch will be installed in Inkoo, to be used to pull the offshore pipeline from the pipelaying ship to shore. After this, the pipeline installation will progress at a rate of 2 - 3 km/d towards Estonia. Pipe finishing work will begin immediately in June. In August, the offshore pipeline will undergo pressure testing after which it will be dried and connected to the onshore pipelines in Finland and Estonia.

“It is a pleasure to note that the offshore pipeline work is progressing as planned, thus enabling the opening of the natural gas market at the beginning of 2020,” says Herkko Plit, President and CEO of Baltic Connector Oy.

Baltic Connector Oy is a state-owned company set up in 2015 to implement the Finnish part of the Balticconnector gas pipeline to be built between Finland and Estonia. When completed, Balticconnector will connect the gas networks of Finland and the Baltic countries and will enable the opening of the gas market in Finland. The EU has granted funding to cover 75% of the project, and the Balticconnector gas pipeline is due to be completed by 2020.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/project-news/03042019/prep-work-for-the-balticconnector-pipeline-completed/