The Balticconnector pipeline has completed the final phase of commissioning when the offshore pipeline was filled with gas and pressurized as well as connected to Estonia’s gas transmission network.
The pipeline should be in commercial use as of January 01, 2020.
The pipeline’s construction work and laying on the seabed of the Gulf of Finland were completed in summer 2019 .
To fill the pipeline with gas, it was first rinsed with nitrogen, which was then purged by conveying natural gas behind the pipeline scraper. Once the pipeline scraper, or the “pig” as it is called in the industry, arrived from Inkoo to Paldiski in Estonia, the pipeline was filled with gas and ready for use.
“ Filling the offshore pipeline with gas means that the Balticconnector pipeline is ready for use. The onshore pipeline was filled with gas earlier, and the trial runs of the Inkoo compressor stations were successfully completed. Everything is in place for bringing the pipeline into operation on 1 January 2020 ,” says Tom Främling , project director of Baltic Connector Oy.
“ We can be proud of our achievement. Professional project management and motivated project teams made it possible to commission the pipeline on schedule. Balticconnector will be brought into operation on 1 January 2020 when the Finnish gas market opens ,” says Herkko Plit , president and CEO of Baltic Connector Oy.