The MEGAL pipeline () is a major

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

pipeline system in southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It transports natural gas from the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

–German and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n–German borders to the German–

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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 Europea ...

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 primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

fined

GDF Suez Engie SA (stylised in all caps as ENGIE) is a French multinational electric utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie. Its activities cover electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear power, renewable energy ...

, now

Engie Engie SA (stylised in all caps as ENGIE) is a French multinational electric utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie. Its activities cover electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear power, renewable energy ...

and

E.ON E.ON SE is a European multinational electric utility company based in Essen, Germany. It operates as one of the world's largest investor-owned electric utility service providers. The name originates from the Latin word '' aeon'', derived from ...

€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 Ruhrgas AG (original name: Aktiengesellschaft für Kohleverwertung; later: E.ON Ruhrgas) was the largest natural gas transportation and trading company based in Essen, Germany. The company was founded in 1926 and it finally ceased to exist on 2 Ma ...

– 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 Waidhaus is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany. It lies near the border with the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked coun ...

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 * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

(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 and

Schwandorf Schwandorf is a town in the Upper Palatinate in Bavaria, Germany, which is the seat of the Schwandorf (district), Schwandorf district. It lies on the river Naab. Geography Geographical location Schwandorf is located at the intersection 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 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 () in Mittelbrunn was first mentioned in 1496. The chapel was partially destroyed in the Thirty Years War ...

, 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 Rimpar is a market town in the district of Würzburg in the German state of Bavaria. It is located about 10 km (6 mi) north of the City of Würzburg. The municipality includes the villages of Gramschatz and Maidbronn, incorporated in 19 ...

Ownership

The pipeline is owned by Open Grid Europe (51%) and GRTgaz Deutschland (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 subsi ...

– 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