The MEGAL pipeline (german: Mittel-Europäische-Gasleitung) is a major

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 ...

pipeline system in southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It transports natural gas from the Czech–German and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n–German borders to the German–

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

border.

History

Construction started in 1975 when Ruhrgas and

Gaz de France Gaz de France (GDF) was a French company which produced, transported and sold natural gas around the world, especially in France, its main market. The company was also particularly active in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other Europe ...

formed a partnership (''Mittel-Europäische-Gasleitungsgesellschaft'') for transportation of Russian natural gas to France and southern Germany. The pipeline was commissioned in 1980. The pipeline cost €634 million. In July 2009, 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 ...

fined

GDF Suez Engie SA is a French multinational utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie, which operates in the fields of energy transition, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy and petroleum. ...

, now

Engie Engie SA is a French multinational utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie, which operates in the fields of energy transition, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy and petroleum ...

and E.ON €553 million each due to

collusion Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right. Collusion is not always considered illegal. It can be used to att ...

on the MEGAL pipeline. Commission officials claimed there was a deal between the two groups’ predecessor companies –

and Ruhrgas – not to sell gas sent via MEGAL into each other's home markets dating from the mid-1970s. The Commission alleged that the companies maintained these arrangements after European gas markets were liberalised despite knowing that the 1975 deal violated competition rules. They are the second largest fines imposed by the European Commission and the first on the energy sector. The decision is contested by both companies, who argue that the business rules in 1975 differed from those of today. In 1975, Ruhrgas and Gaz de France concluded arrangements according to which they agreed not to sell gas in each other's home market. The deal was abandoned in 2005.

Technical description

The pipeline system is long. It comprises two interconnected pipelines—MEGAL Nord and MEGAL Süd. The MEGAL Nord pipeline consists of two parallel pipelines with a length of and from Waidhaus to Medelsheim. It is operated at a pressure of 80

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

(1,160 psi), which is secured by three compressor stations. The capacity of the pipeline is 22 billion cubic metres (777 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per year, or a little more than 60 million cubic metres (2 billion cubic feet) per day. The -long MEGAL Süd pipeline between

Oberkappel Oberkappel is a municipality in the district of Rohrbach in the state of Upper Austria. Population Geography Oberkappel has an area of 12 km². The municipality is located in the north of the state of Upper Austria. It borders on Germany and is ...

and

Schwandorf Schwandorf is a town on the river Naab in the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany, which is the seat of the Schwandorf district. Sights * Catholic parish church of St. Jakob * Kreuzberg Church: Catholic parish, monastic and pilgrimage church of ...

is operated at a pressure of 67.5 bar (979 psi), which is secured by two compressor stations. The connecting pipeline between MEGAL Nord and MEGAL Süd is long and it is connected in Rothenstadt and Schwandorf. The MEGAL pipeline crosses the

Trans Europa Naturgas Pipeline The Trans Europa Naturgas Pipeline (TENP) is a natural gas pipeline which runs from the German-Netherlands border to the German-Swiss border. It carries North Sea natural gas from the Netherlands to Italy and Switzerland. It also provides natural ...

and the Remich pipeline at

Mittelbrunn Mittelbrunn is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Verena Chapel The Verena Chapel (german: Verenakapelle) in Mittelbrunn was first mentioned in 1496. The chapel was partially destroyed in ...

, the METG (pipeline from the German-Dutch border) at

Gernsheim Gernsheim () is a town in Groß-Gerau district and Darmstadt region in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Rhine. Geography Location The ''Schöfferstadt Gernsheim'', as Gernsheim may officially call itself – it was Peter Schöffer's birthplace – ...

, and the pipeline going to the Ruhr Industrial Area at Rimpar.

Ownership

The pipeline is owned by Open Grid Europe (51%) and

GRTgaz Deutschland GRTgaz is a French natural gas transmission system operator located in Bois-Colombes, Île de France, France. The operated system consists of high pressure gas pipelines with pressure exceeding . Status GRTgaz is a public limited company, a sub ...

(subsidiary of

GRTgaz GRTgaz is a French natural gas transmission system operator located in Bois-Colombes, Île de France, France. The operated system consists of high pressure gas pipelines with pressure exceeding . Status GRTgaz is a public limited company, a sub ...

– 49%). It is operated by Open Grid Europe.

References

External links

GRTgaz Deutschland GmbH

Map of pipeline
{{Coord missing, Germany Energy infrastructure completed in 1980 Natural gas pipelines in Germany Engie