Balticconnector undersea gas pipeline reaches land in Estonia
After a final almost 24 hours of uninterrupted work, the Estonian end of the Balticconnector undersea gas pipeline reached land at Pakrineeme on Pakri peninsula in northwestern Estonia on Monday morning.
The pipeline was pulled out of the water at 9 a.m. on Monday morning. The last bit of welding still to be done on the pipeline is planned for next week, electricity and gas grid operator Elering said.
What is left is to weld the Estonian end of the pipeline together with its 76-kilometer undersea section leading to Finland. In coastal waters, the first 1.7 kilometers of the pipeline will be covered with soil and rocks. A pressure test of the pipeline will be carried out later this summer.
The Balticconnector pipeline is expected to be added to the Finnish and Estonian gas grid early next year, when the joint gas market of Finland, Estonia and Latvia will enter into effect.
The Estonian-Finnish pipeline, along with other projects to strengthen the connection between Estonia and Latvia as well, will cost some €300 million euros. The European Union is contributing more than €200, or two thirds, of the project.
The length of the offshore part of Balticconnector from the Estonian town of Paldiski to Inkoo, Finland is 77 kilometers. The length of the above-ground part of the pipeline is 55 kilometers in Estonia, and 21 kilometers in Finland.
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Editor: Dario Cavegn
