By TALLINN. Nov 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The capacity of the Finnish-Estonian Balticconnector gas pipeline will be increased following its restoration and commissioning as well as inspection and maintenance work on the Estonian-Latvian gas transmission system, Estonian state electricity and gas network operator Elering said in a press release.
“Grid operators in Finland and the Baltic region are actively implementing infrastructure projects to increase the capacity and efficiency of the regional gas system to better meet the needs of market participants (…). The expansion of the Latvia-Lithuania interconnection will allow for the transport of large volumes of gas. The results of calculations and modeling of the transmission system conducted jointly by the gas transmission system operators show that the technical capacity of the Balticconnector connection point can be increased,” the press release says.
As noted, historically the throughput capacity of Balticconnector in the Estonia-Finland direction is 55-60 GWh per day in winter and 65 GWh in summer. After the renovation, the gas supply capacity from Estonia to Finland will be increased to 70.5 GWh per day. For the Finland-Estonia route, the proposed capacity is 78 GWh per day, which is close to the maximum, taking the pipe diameter and design pressure into account.
“With the repair work planned for 2024, the increased capacity can be offered to the market starting in October 2024,” the company said.
On the night of October 8, a leak was discovered on the Balticconnector gas pipeline. Finnish gas network operator Gasgrid and Estonia’s Elering noticed an unusual drop in pressure and closed the valves. As it turned out during the investigation, the gas pipeline had suffered mechanical damage. Gasgrid said repairs would take up to six months.
The length of the underwater part of the Balticconnector from Estonian Paldiski to Inkoo in Finland is 77 km. The gas pipeline was launched at the beginning of 2020.
