The Baltic Pipe project is a 900km-long pipeline constructed for the bidirectional transmission of natural gas between Denmark and Poland. The pipeline passes through both marine and land regions, providing access to gas from the North Sea.
The offshore pipeline moves through the marine regions of Denmark, Sweden and Poland.
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Danish energy company Energinet developed the project in collaboration with Gaz-System, a Polish natural gas transmission system operator.
The construction of the pipeline began in 2020 and involved an investment of DKr10bn ($1.46bn).
The pipeline was inaugurated in September 2022 and became fully operational in November 2022.
The project helped in increasing the Polish and Danish gas transmission capacity by up to ten billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year.
Baltic Pipe project approvals
The developers reached the final investment decision (FID) on the pipeline project in November 2018. The project secured the environmental approval to begin construction on land from the Danish authorities in July 2019. The Danish Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities permitted the construction of the offshore section of the pipeline in October 2019.
Poland’s Government approved the approximately 56km-long offshore part construction of the pipeline, including the landfall, in April 2020. The Swedish Government approved the 85km-long pipeline construction in the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone in May 2020. The approval of the Swedish Government marked the completion of the permission process for the construction of the Baltic Pipe.
Baltic Pipe gas pipeline project route
The Baltic Pipe project comprises five segments, including the North Sea offshore pipeline, Onshore Denmark, Compressor station on Zealand in Denmark, the Baltic Sea offshore pipeline between Denmark and Poland, and Onshore Poland.
The pipeline is a strategic infrastructure that established a new inter-European gas supply corridor from Norway to Poland, Sweden, Denmark and the Baltic states, as well as the central and eastern portions of Europe.
Details of the gas pipeline segments developed by Energinet
The North Sea offshore pipeline segment of the project is approximately 105km long. Measuring 800mm in diameter, the pipeline has an operating pressure of 8.5 to 11 megapascals (Mpa).
The segment connects the Norwegian gas supply source to the Danish onshore transmission system via Europipe II, an existing dry gas export pipeline in the North Sea carrying natural gas from Norway to Germany. It makes landfall near Blabjerg on the west coast of Denmark.
In the Onshore Denmark segment of the project, the gas is transported from the Danish west coast to the southeastern part of Zealand via a new 220km-long onshore pipeline. The pipeline has a diameter of 900mm-1,000mm and operates at a pressure of 5Mpa to 8Mpa.
The compressor station featuring a 5Mpa-12Mpa building capacity is developed in an area of up to 20ha at Zealand. It increases the gas pressure for transportation to Poland through the offshore pipeline in the Baltic Sea as well as back into the Danish transmission system.
Details of gas pipeline segments developed by Gaz-System
The 275km-long, 36in concrete-coated Baltic Sea offshore pipeline segment is laid, using Saipem S-lay vessels, in a water depth of 4m-57m in the Baltic Sea.
Measuring 900mm in diameter with an operating pressure of 6Mpa-12Mpa, the pipeline starts from Faxe Bay shore, passes through the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone, goes around Bornholm to the territorial waters of Poland. The pipeline section in the Baltic Sea, excluding the Swedish Marine region, is approximately 133km long.
The pipeline makes the landfall near Niechorze and Pogorzelica in the Rewal commune on the Baltic coast of Poland. It has two sections, with each section measuring 12m-long.
In the Onshore Poland segment, GAZ-SYSTEM constructed and modernised three gas compressor stations.
The Onshore Poland section comprises a 275km long new pipeline with a 900mm-1,000mm diameter and a 8.4Mpa-15Mpa operating pressure.
Financial details of Baltic Pipe gas pipeline project
The European Commission (EC) granted approximately €267m ($288.7m) for the construction of the pipeline under the European Union’s (EU) Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The project is recognised as a “Project of Common Interest” (PCI) by the EC.
The EC contribution for the engineering works of the project in 2017 and 2018 stood at a maximum of €51.4m ($58.94m). In 2015, the pipeline project was supported by the EC with €400,000 ($458,736) in funding for the feasibility study.
Contractors involved
Ramboll, Gazoprojekt, and Ernst & Young prepared the feasibility study for the project, while Cowi provided consulting services for the project.
Saipem received a contract worth approximately €280m ($307.2m) to transport and install the offshore gas pipeline between Denmark and Poland in May 2020. The project also involves micro-tunnelling and civil works, rock-dumping, as well as pre-lay and post-lay trenching and backfilling works.
Next Geosolutions was contracted by Saipem to provide pipelay survey support services.
Construction company Ferrovial through its Polish subsidiary Budimex was awarded a €70m ($82.52m) contract to construct a 122km-long section in Poland.
MT Group, in joint venture with PPS Pipeline Systems, constructed a 41km section of the pipeline in Poland under a €64m ($75.45m) contract.
A.Hak International was awarded the contract for the construction of the onshore pipeline in Denmark.
Intero-Integrity, an inspection, industrial and environmental services provider, was awarded the commissioning contract for the pipeline.
Law companies Kochanski & Partners and DZP provided advisory services for the project.
