The gas-in procedure for the first string of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has started, following the completion of pre-commissioning activities.
This string, of which gas filling started on 4 October, will be gradually filled to build the required inventory and pressure as a prerequisite for the later technical tests.
Previously, the first string of the pipeline underwent pre-commissioning activities to assure the pipeline integrity.
This included the internal inspection by special devices, pipeline inspection gauges, as well as external visual and instrumental surveys of the pipeline.
Pre-commissioning steps for the second string are ongoing. Nord Stream 2 said it will inform about further technical steps in due time.
The $11 billion-worth Nord Stream 2 is designed as two parallel 48-inch lines, roughly 1,200 kilometers long, each starting southwest of St. Petersburg and ending at the German coast at Greifswald.
To remind, Russian gas company Gazprom announced on 10 September that the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had been fully completed.
The project will have the capacity to transport 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas a year to the EU for at least 50 years.