Published on 11th May 2020
Sweden has issued a construction permit for the 85-km long pipeline section of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline project between Denmark and Poland in the Swedish exclusive economic zone, approving the last permit required for the 10 bcm/year project.
Previously, a contract worth approximately EUR 280 million has been awarded to Saipem, a leading company in engineering, drilling and construction of major projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors, by GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. for the transportation and installation of a natural gas pipeline between Denmark and Poland in the Baltic Sea.
GAZ-SYSTEM is a Polish company responsible for natural gas transmission and it operates the most important gas pipelines in Poland. This contract work is part of the Baltic Pipe project—the construction of a bidirectional offshore gas pipeline connecting Poland and Denmark and the expansion of the local transmission network.
The Baltic Pipe Project is a strategic infrastructure project developed by a joint venture between GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. and Energinet.dk, and is co-financed by the European Union to create a new inter-European gas corridor to have gas supplied directly from Norway to the markets in Poland, Denmark, and neighboring countries.
The contract comprises the construction of approximately 275 km of 36-inch concrete-coated pipeline between Denmark and Poland in a water depth between 4 and 57 m, which will be carried out by Saipem S-lay vessels. The contract includes microtunneling and civil works activities in Denmark and Poland, extensive rockdumping as well as pre and post-lay trenching and backfilling activities. The work under the contract is scheduled to commence immediately.
GAZ-SYSTEM President Tomasz Stępień commented: “This decision has shown that Swedish government recognises the project’s importance, not only for Poland and Denmark but also for the whole European Union, for tightening cooperation among the EU member states and, perhaps most of all, for becoming independent of natural gas supplies from Russia.”
GAZ-SYSTEM, on the other hand, plans to build over 2000 km of new gas pipelines in western, southern, and eastern parts of Poland as part of the 2015-2025 investment programme.
Further development of the national transmission network, including the construction of new gas pipelines as part of the North-South Gas Corridor is expected to strengthen Poland’s energy security.
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