EU supports Klaipeda-Kursenai pipeline construction

Under this agreement, the project will be granted the EU support of EUR 27.6 million under the Connecting Europe Facility, Amber Grid said in a statement.

The project for the construction of the Klaipėda – Kuršėnai pipeline was initiated with a view to the create sufficient installed capacity to transport gas supplies from the LNG terminal in Klaipėda both for Lithuania’s domestic customers in the north-west and for gas customers located in the Baltic States. It aims to create opportunities for the Baltic market participants to diversify their gas supply sources, to ensure safety of gas supplies, to increase the reliability of the gas transmission system and to ensure gas market competitiveness.

Lithuania’s current natural gas transmission system infrastructure is capable of delivering approximately 40 percent of the LNG terminal’s potential daily capacity. After the construction of the Klaipėda-Kuršėnai pipeline, possibilities would be created to exploit the maximum capacity of the LNG terminal, which could help meet more than 80 percent of the natural gas demand of the three Baltic States, which would still further increase the importance of the LNG terminal for the region and possibilities of the diversification of gas supplies.

Under the project, a 110 km long 800 mm diameter gas transmission pipeline from the point of connection with the LNG terminal in Klaipėda to the town of Kuršėnai will be built with a total value of EUR 63.7 million.

Currently underway are intensive works for the construction of the gas transmission pipeline; the works that have already been completed include the delivery to the construction site of approx. 100 km of gas piping, the welding of over 80 km-long gas pipeline section, of which approx. 50 percent have already been laid and buried. The construction is scheduled for completion end 2015.

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Image: Amber Grid