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The Baltic Pipe is a
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon di ...
pipeline Pipeline may refer to: Electronics, computers and computing * Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on ** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...
between Europipe II (which traverses the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegia ...
between
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and th ...
and Germany) and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. It is a strategic infrastructure project to create a new European gas supply corridor. The Baltic Pipe transports natural gas from the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegia ...
to
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
via
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , established ...
at up to per year. The project was developed by the Danish gas and electricity transmission system operator
Energinet Energinet is the Danish national transmission system operator for electricity and natural gas. It is an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state under the Ministry of Climate and Energy. Energinet has some 1150 employees, a ...
and the Polish gas transmission system operator Gaz-System. The project is recognised as a Project of Common Interest of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
. The Baltic Pipe officially became operational on 27 September 2022, one day after a series of as of yet unexplained explosions on 26 September 2022 rendered the
Nord Stream 1 Nord Stream (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream, literally 'North Stream'; russian: Северный поток, ''Severny potok'') is a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea ...
and
Nord Stream 2 Nord Stream 2 (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream 2, literally 'North Stream2'; russian: Северный поток — 2) is a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany running through the Baltic Sea, financed ...
pipelines from
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
to Germany inoperable.


History

The project started in 2001, when Danish oil and gas company
DONG Dong or DONG may refer to: Places * Dong Lake, or East Lake, a lake in China * Dong, Arunachal Pradesh, a village in India * Dong (administrative division) (동 or 洞), a neighborhood division in Korea Persons *Queen Dong (1623–1681), prince ...
and Polish oil and gas company PGNiG signed an agreement on construction of the pipeline and Danish gas supply to Poland. It was agreed to establish a pipeline consortium with two-thirds of the shares belonging to DONG and one-third to PGNiG with possible
Statoil Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. I ...
participation. However, shortly afterward the project was suspended, because of economic feasibility. The project was revived in 2007. On 2 May 2007, PGNiG and
Energinet Energinet is the Danish national transmission system operator for electricity and natural gas. It is an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state under the Ministry of Climate and Energy. Energinet has some 1150 employees, a ...
, a Danish transmission system operator, which was taken over Danish natural gas transmission network from DONG, signed an agreement to explore the possibility of constructing the Baltic Pipe. In August 2008, the Polish Government replaced PGNiG with the fully state-owned pipeline operator Gaz-System as the project partner. On 18 May 2009, the European Commission launched a call for proposals for grants in the framework of the European Energy Programme for Recovery. It proposed to allocate about €150 million for implementation of Skanled and Baltic Pipe projects. The European Commission provided €3.2 million for technical design of the pipeline. However, on 16 June 2009 Gaz-System suspended the implementation of the project due to the suspension of the Skanled project and a lack of natural gas demand in Poland. The project was reactivated by Poland in February 2010 after reviewing the project, to reduce its use of coal and eastern gas. The current project was initiated in 2016 when a new feasibility study was conducted. The project was included in the first list of projects of common interest by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
in 2013, and the binding list on 18 November 2015. On 24 November 2017, it was included for the third time. In mid-2017, Energinet and Gaz-System launched the open season procedure. In January 2018, they signed 15-year capacity agreements with market participants. In 2018, public hearings took place in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Poland. In July 2018, a €18.3 million subsidy was granted from the Connecting Europe Facility. In April 2019, €214.9 million funding was granted to the project by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
. Between 2018 and 2020, analytical, survey and design works were carried out in order to obtain the required permits for construction and operation of the Baltic offshore pipeline. In 2018, 48% of electricity produced in Poland came from hard coal, 29% from brown coal, 13% from renewable sources (mostly wind power) and 7% from natural gas. On 3 June 2021, the Danish Environmental and Food Appeals Board announced that it had repealed a land permit issued in 2019 for Baltic Pipe. According to the appeals board, a permit for the project given by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency did not sufficiently lay out the measures that would be taken to protect
dormice A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...
, Nordic birch mice and
bats Bats are mammals of the Order (biology), order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in fli ...
during construction of the 210-kilometer (130-mile) pipeline across Denmark. The decision meant that Denmark's environmental agency needed to carry out more studies. On 19 June 2021, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency informed that the Baltic Pipe Project can resume construction works in specific parts of the route across Denmark. It is expected that the overall project will be delayed by 3 months, but that it will be able to deliver a large part of the agreed upon capacity by October 2022 working towards delivering full capacity by the end of 2022. On 21 December 2021, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency began the 8 weeks long hearing period for the Baltic Pipe Environmental Impact Assessment Report and the draft hearing for the project. On 1 March 2022, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency has issued a new environmental permit for the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline after the original permit was repealed by the Danish Environmental and Food Appeals Board in 2021. With the new permit, Energinet can restart construction on parts of the project in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula and on the western part of the island of Funen. In April 2022, the North Sea connection was made. Work still remained onshore. Energinet commenced commissioning the Baltic Pipe on 27 September 2022, using parts of the existing gas transmission system in Denmark as temporary replacement for the parts that have been delayed. The entire project is expected to be operational at full annual capacity of up to by 1 January 2023. By August, the pipeline had been welded, tested and cleaned between Denmark and Poland. On 15 September, PGNiG announced that no hydrocarbons were found in the Norwegian Copernicus oil and gas field, of which they own 50%. On 23 September, PGNiG and
Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. I ...
announced a 10-year gas supply contract through Baltic Pipe at , from 2023 to 2033. The opening of Baltic Sea section took place in Szczecin, Poland on 27 September 2022, and the North Sea section opened on 1 November 2022. Full capacity was ready on 30 November 2022.


Technical features

The original submarine pipeline was to connect
Faxe Faxe or Fakse is a town on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It is located in Faxe Municipality in Region Zealand. The town is most known for the Faxe Brewery, Royal Unibrew, a relatively large brewery producing a range of beer and soft ...
South in Denmark and Niechorze- Pogorzelica in Poland. The cost of building that pipeline was estimated at €335-350 million, depending on the diameter of the pipe. It was planned to be built allowing gas flows in both directions. The current project consists of five major segments: * The North Sea offshore pipelineAn offshore pipeline between the Norwegian gas system in the North Sea and the Danish gas transmission system, branching off Europipe II that connects Norway and Germany. Its landfall is on the west coast of Denmark near Blaabjerg. The offshore pipeline was built and operated by Energinet. * Onshore DenmarkExpansion of the existing Danish transmission system from west to east, including of new pipelines. The expansions in Denmark included construction of a new pipeline from Blaabjerg to
Nybro Nybro (, outdatedly ) is a city and the seat of Nybro Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 13,583 inhabitants in 2020. Overview Nybro was founded as a rest area for travellers on the road between Växjö in the west and Kalmar in the east. I ...
, construction of a receiving plant at Nybro, construction of a new pipeline from
Egtved Egtved is a village with a population of 2,446 (as of 1 January 2022) near Vejle, Denmark in Vejle municipality in the Danish Region of Southern Denmark. Nearby is Tørskind Gravel Pit, a sculpture park. The village has a Romanesque church b ...
to the
Little Belt The Little Belt (, ) is a strait between the island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits that drain and connect the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait, which drains west to the North Sea and Atlant ...
, construction of a new pipeline across the Little Belt, construction of a new pipeline over
Fyn Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...
from the Little Belt to
Nyborg Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,525 (2022). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of ...
, and construction of a new pipeline on
Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the ...
from Kongsmark to the Baltic Sea offshore landfall at the southeaster part of Zealand. It is built and operated by Energinet. * A compressor station in Denmark located on the eastern part of Zealand, which is necessary for the pipeline between Denmark and Poland. It also ensures the reverse flow. It is built and operated by Energinet, and it is co-financed by Gaz-System. * The Baltic Sea offshore pipeline of between Denmark and Poland providing bi-directional transmission of gas. The route goes through the Danish and Polish maritime areas and Swedish exclusive economic zone with the preferred landfalls in
Faxe Faxe or Fakse is a town on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It is located in Faxe Municipality in Region Zealand. The town is most known for the Faxe Brewery, Royal Unibrew, a relatively large brewery producing a range of beer and soft ...
South Denmark and in NiechorzePogorzelica in Poland. The offshore pipeline is built and operated by Gaz-System. * Onshore Polandexpansion of the Polish gas transmission system, including new pipeline and three gas compressor stations. It consists of construction of the onshore gas pipeline connecting the offshore gas pipeline to the national transmission system, construction of the
Goleniów Goleniów ( csb, Gòłonóg; german: Gollnow) is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland with 22,844 inhabitants (2011). It is the capital of Goleniów County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Szczecin Voivodes ...
Lwówek pipeline, extension of the Goleniów gas compressor station, construction of the Gustorzyn gas compressor station, and extension of the
Odolanów Odolanów (german: Adelnau) is a town in the Greater Poland Voivodeship of Poland, about south-west from Ostrów Wielkopolski, with over 5000 inhabitants. History The first written document that mentions Odolanów dates back to 1301, when it w ...
gas compressor station. It is built and operated by Gaz-System. At fully operational in December 2022, it has a gas transportation capacity of from Norway to Denmark and Poland, and from Poland to Denmark. The pipeline from the North Sea to Poland has a total length of . The Baltic Pipe has the capacity to replace the roughly 60% of Polish gas imports coming from Russia via the Yamal pipeline.


See also

* *
Nord Stream 1 Nord Stream (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream, literally 'North Stream'; russian: Северный поток, ''Severny potok'') is a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea ...
and
Nord Stream 2 Nord Stream 2 (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream 2, literally 'North Stream2'; russian: Северный поток — 2) is a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany running through the Baltic Sea, financed ...
* * * *


References


External links

* {{Official website Denmark–Norway relations Denmark–Poland relations Energy in Poland Natural gas pipelines in Denmark Natural gas pipelines in Poland Pipelines under the Baltic Sea Proposed pipelines in Europe Proposed transport infrastructure in Poland Norway–Poland relations