Gassco has received consent from Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway to use the Polarled pipeline.
According to PSA, the consent has been given to Gassco to put the pipeline into commission.
Polarled is a new gas pipeline from Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea to the Nyhamna gas-processing facility in Møre og Romsdal county.
The pipeline creates a new transport solution for gas from the field and a new, common infrastructure for handling increased production volumes. The joint venture company Polarled JV owns the pipeline, which is 481 kilometers long and 36″ in diameter.
Statoil is the operator for the development, while Gassco takes over operatorship once the work to dewater the pipeline and fill it with gas begins.
This work is scheduled to start on May 15, 2017. The pipeline will then be left gas-filled until gas deliveries from Aasta Hansteen begin in autumn 2018.