Balticconnector gas pipeline commissioned

12 December 2019 18:59 (UTC+04:00)

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Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was commissioned on Dec.11, Trend reports with reference to the project’s website.

The construction work of the Balticconnector project was completed one month ahead of schedule – the pipeline could have been commissioned already in November 2019.

The commissioning of the Balticconnector allows the opening of the Finnish gas market as scheduled on 1 January 2020.

The completed gas pipeline enables the connection of the Finnish and Estonian gas markets and integrates the countries in the EU’s common energy market. The pipeline improves the reliability of regional gas supply and enables decentralised gas supply as well as, e.g., the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biogas.

The submarine section of the pipeline between Estonia and Finland is 77 kilometres long. The pipeline reaches land in Finland in Inkoo where the 21-kilometre underground pipeline connects to Finland’s national transmission network. The pipeline’s transmission capacity is 7.2 million cubic metres of gas per day.

The project had a budget of EUR 250 million, of which 75 % was provided through investment aid from the Connecting Europe Facility – a financial instrument of the EU’s energy sector. Good cooperation between Finland, Estonia and the EU has been the project’s cornerstone.

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