Nord Stream

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escveritas
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Nord Stream

Unread post by escveritas »

The Pipeline

The Nord Stream twin pipeline system through the Baltic Sea runs from Vyborg, Russia to Lubmin near Greifswald, Germany. The pipelines were built and are operated by Nord Stream AG.

The Nord Stream route crosses the Exclusive Economic Zones of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, as well as the territorial waters of Russia, Denmark, and Germany.

Direct Connection Between Russia and the EU

The two 1,224-kilometre offshore pipelines are the most direct connection between the vast gas reserves in Russia and energy markets in the European Union. Combined, the twin pipelines have the capacity to transport a combined total of 55 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year to businesses and households in the EU for at least 50 years. As the project strengthens the EU energy market and reinforces security of supply, the project has been designated as being of "European interest" by the European Parliament and Council.

Construction of Line 1 of the twin pipeline system began in April 2010, and was completed in June 2011. Transportation of gas through Line 1 began in mid November 2011. Construction of Line 2, which runs parallel to Line 1, began in May 2011 and it was completed in April 2012. Gas transport through the second line began in October 2012. Each line has a transport capacity of roughly 27.5 bcm of natural gas per annum.

Reliable Gas Sources

Bovanenkovo oil and gas condensate deposit is the main natural gas base for the Nord Stream Pipeline. Bovanenkovo lies in Western Siberia (Russia), on the Yamal Peninsula, 40 kilometers from the coast of the Kara Sea and covers an area of about 1000 square kilometers. Searched and estimated gas reserves there amount to 4.9 trillion cubic meters which makes the Bovanenkovo field a reliable source of natural gas for Europe. The license for the development of the Bovanenkovo field is owned by Gazprom Dobycha Nadym LLC, which is a 100% subsidiary of PJSC Gazprom.

Infrastructure for Secure Gas Supply

A 917-kilometre onshore pipeline in Russian territory built by Gazprom connects Nord Stream to the Russian gas transmission system. Two onshore connections from Greifswald to the south and west of Germany, with a total length of more than 900 kilometres, built by W&G and E.ON SE, connect the pipeline with the European gas transmission system.
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Re: Nord Stream

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From Pipes to Pipeline

The Nord Stream Pipeline system is a major feat of engineering, which involved complex logistics, along with suppliers and contractors from all over the world. The project consists of two pipelines running almost parallel to one another through the Baltic Sea.

Only after design and route of the pipelines was set, and with environmental and construction related permits issued, was everything in place to begin building the pipelines.

In April 2010, Nord Stream's contractors began constructing the first of its two, 1,224-kilometre natural gas pipelines. This moment was just one of many pieces of the complex construction and logistics puzzle, which included, among other things, having pipes manufactured, concrete coated and in the right place at the right time to keep the construction machine running seamlessly for 30 months.

Tailor-Made Plan for the Baltic Sea

Both lines of the Nord Stream Pipeline system were laid in three sections. The three sections have different wall thicknesses following the direction of the gas flow. Gas pressure reduces as it makes its way through the pipelines. Therefore, the walls are thickest at the start of the pipelines at Portovaya Bay, Russia, and thinnest at the landing point at Greifswald, Germany.

Each of the pipelines is made up of about 100,000 pipes. Along the pipeline route, five harbour sites supplied concrete-coated pipes on a continuous basis to the lay barges owned and operated by Nord Stream's contractor, Saipem, and its subcontractor, Allseas. In 2010, three vessels were used to complete the pipelines, working at different segments of the route. Through mid-2011, two vessels were used. From mid-2011 through April 2012, Saipem's Castoro Sei worked on Line 2.

Construction of the pipelines was scheduled to minimise environmental impacts. For example, so as not to interfere with critical seal breeding and fish spawning seasons.

Pipe Laying Handled by Three Vessels

Saipem organised three laybarges; two with special requirements, for the construction of pipelines. Saipem's Castoro Dieci, which is designed to work in shallow waters, worked in the Bay of Greifswald, Germany. The Castoro Dieci laid 28 kilometres of each of the twin pipelines, working from June 2010 to October 2010. The Allsea's Solitaire – the biggest pipelay vessel in the world – laid a 342.5-kilometre segment of each of the twin pipelines, starting in September 2010, completing its work in August 2011. With its dynamic positioning system, the Solitaire was the ideal vessel for working in the congested Gulf of Finland. Saipem's Castoro Sei is laying about 70 percent or 853.5 kilometres of each of the two pipelines. It started working in April 2010, and finished work on Line 1 in May 2011. The Castoro Sei began work on Line 2 in June 2011 and finished in April 2012.

How It Was Done

In preparation for pipe laying, the seabed was surveyed with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to ensure pipelay safety and to confirm the seabed data gathered during the lengthy route planning phase. Additionally, in some locations along the route, the strategic placement of coarse gravel was necessary to create a stable base on which the pipeline can rest. Gravel was transported and placed by dedicated rock placement vessels to the specific locations where support was required prior to pipe laying. On board the pipelay vessels, the construction cycle is made up of several steps including bevelling, welding, testing and the lowering of the pipeline onto the seabed. There are exact procedures defined for each process to ensure quality and compliance with health and safety regulations. Following the laying process, the pipelines were again monitored underwater by ROV to ensure correct positioning.

After completion of the construction work, the three pipeline segments were flooded with water and pressure tested to ensure mechanical integrity. Then, the pipeline segments were connected by welding them underwater. Once connected, the pipeline was emptied of water, and filled with nitrogen before natural gas was safely introduced. The connection of these three pipeline sections was carried out at the two locations where the design pressure changes. The connecting of the three sections of Line 1 and Line 2 were completed in June 2011 and August 2012 respectively.

With every aspect of logistics and construction coordinated by Nord Stream experts at the company headquarters, the pipelines were built and operational on time and in budget.

Line 1 was completed in June 2011, and gas transport began in mid-November 2011. Construction of Line 2 began in May 2011, and came on stream in October 2012.
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Re: Nord Stream

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Planning the Nord Stream Pipelines

The Nord Stream Pipeline route through the Baltic Sea is the most direct connection between the vast gas reserves in Russia and markets in the European Union. The twin pipeline system occupies less than one-thousandth of one percent of the Baltic Sea floor, and its construction has been planned in such a way as to create only local, and minimal temporary disturbance of the sea floor environment.

To minimise the potential of any long-term detrimental effects to the seabed, Nord Stream commissioned reputable independent experts in the fields of marine and hydrographic surveying to perform surveys and investigations to ensure the pipeline will be secure and safe to operate and will remain stable on the seabed throughout its lifetime. Feasibility research to transit the Baltic Sea began in 1997. Since then, more than 2,500 square kilometres along the route have been precisely surveyed. The initial survey covered a wide seabed corridor so that a defined pipeline route could be engineered. Subsequently more detailed and specific surveys were performed over a narrower corridor width. After the initial survey, more detailed sweeps took place, covering narrow portions of the potential pipeline route from 2005 through 2008.

More than 100 million euros were invested in surveying and planning the optimal route, along with studying potential environmental impacts of construction. The surveys contributed to one of the most comprehensive investigations of the Baltic Sea ecosystem, involving an international team of scientists and engineers.

Nine Countries Involved in the Planning Phase

Because the pipelines pass through the territorial waters or Exclusive Economic Zones of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, and could affect other nations, an extensive permitting and consultation process was required under the Espoo Convention. The planning phase of this project set new standards of transparency and international environmental collaboration on transboundary environmental impacts: under this Espoo Convention process, Nord Stream brought together all nine Baltic Sea states, making this one of the most complex international environmental consultations ever undertaken.

The Espoo process for the Nord Stream project was formally initiated in November 2006 and lasted through February 2007. As part of this process, Nord Stream also participated in an international consultation process, which gave all countries possibly affected by the project the opportunity to review the project in detail. From February 2007 through June 2009, Nord Stream participated in over 200 public hearings, meetings with stakeholders, and conferences in the Baltic Sea countries. All permits to begin construction were received by February 2010, and construction began in April 2010.

Logistics Behind the Pipelines

In 2006, experts at Nord Stream also began planning logistics, a time-critical aspect of the project. The first logistical plan, which largely corresponded to what would become the definite features, was developed in 2006, four years prior to the start of construction of the first line of the system. Investments of more than 100 million euros in the infrastructure of the ports involved in the Nord Stream project were the basis for a green, sustainable logistics concept.

Over 200,000 concrete coated pipes form the twin pipelines. The manufacture of these pipes, followed by the concrete coating, storage and finally the transport to the pipelay vessels is all part of the logistics chain developed by Nord Stream. In April of 2010, when construction of Line 1 began, approximately two-thirds of the pipes needed to build it were already stored at five strategically chosen harbours around the Baltic Sea. The harbours chosen were all part of a strategy of short transportation routes, and transport by ship and train. This concept of short trips, along with environmentally-friendly transport saved roughly 200,000 tonnes of CO2 when compared with other options.

In 2010, Nord Stream received the prestigious German Logistics Award from the German Logistics Association for its green logistics concept. In mid-April 2012, with the delivery of the last pipe needed for Line 2, Nord Stream successfully completed its complex international logistics programme.
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