Pipeline welding work for the onshore section of Balticconnector, linking Finland and Estonia, has been completed in Inkoo, Finland.
The Balticconnector project comprises the construction of pipelines, stations, and systems to connect the existing gas networks in Finland and Estonia.
Balticconnector’s onshore pipeline running from Pölans in Siuntio to Fjusö in Inkoo has been welded together and lowered in the excavated trench.
The work on the pipeline route started with tree removals in winter 2018 and continued with excavation work in June 2018. At the moment, the work is progressing with finishing work on the site and repair of subsurface drains in the fields.
The pressure tests and drying of the pipeline will be carried out in June, and the pipeline will be completed for commissioning in July.
“We thank the landowners for their patience and amicable attitude towards our project. We will ensure the work site is left in the same or even better condition than before we came into the site, ” said Tom Främling , Project Director of Baltic Connector Oy.
The finishing work will last until late autumn 2019. The connecting work of the pipeline will be done at the end of August in Pölans, after which the pipeline is filled with gas.
The commissioning and trial running of the compressor station will take place in September-October, after which the pipeline is ready for use.
The Balticconnector pipeline will be fully ready at the end of 2019.
The Finnish gas market will be opened up on January 01, 2020 when the gas starts to flow in the Balticconnector gas pipeline.
21 kilometers of the pipeline is constructed in Finland, 77 kilometers under the sea, and 55 kilometers in Estonia.
The gas pipeline is bi-directional, and its transmission capacity is 7.2 million cubic meters of gas per day.