Northern Lights (, ''Siyaniye Severa'') is a natural gas pipeline system in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. It is one of the main pipelines supplying north-western Russia and is an important transit route for Russian gas to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

History

The Northern Lights pipeline system was built in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

from the 1960s to 1980s. Construction of the

Vuktyl Vuktyl (, ) is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pechora River near its confluence with the , northeast of Syktyvkar, the capital of the republic. Population: History It was founded in 1968 and granted town s ...

–

Ukhta Ukhta (; , ''Ukva'') is an important industrial town in the Komi Republic of Russia. Population: It was previously known as ''Chibyu'' (until 1939). History Oil springs along the Ukhta River were already known in the 17th century. In the mid- ...

–

Gryazovets Gryazovets () is a town and the administrative center of Gryazovetsky District in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Rzhavka River, south of Vologda, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History The first mention of Gryaz ...

–

Torzhok Torzhok () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Tvertsa River along the federal highway M10 highway (Russia), M10 and a branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway division of the Russian Railways. The ...

section started in 1967 and was completed in 1969. By 1974, the pipeline had been extended to

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. The second main trunk line was added during the 1970s and by 1985, a third main trunk line had been built. Originally, gas was supplied by the Vukhtyl gas field, but later the pipeline was extended in order to connect with the Urengoy gas field.

Technical description

The Northern Lights pipeline system has a total length of , of which around is used to transport Russian gas to Europe. The pipeline runs from the

Urengoy gas field The Urengoy gas field in the northern West Siberia Basin is the world's second largest natural gas field after South Pars / North Dome Gas-Condensate field. It lies in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Tyumen Oblast, Russia, just south of the ...

through Vuktyl, Ukhta, Gryazovets, Torzhok and

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

and from there to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. A part of the newer

Yamal–Europe pipeline The Yamal–Europe natural gas pipeline is a pipeline connecting Russian natural gas fields in the Yamal Peninsula and Western Siberia with Poland and Germany, through Belarus. The Poland portion ceased operating in 2022. In Gazprom's developme ...

runs parallel to the Northern Lights pipeline. A branch line from Gryazovets through

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

supplies the Saint Petersburg area and Finland. A third parallel line will be added to this branch to supply the

Nord Stream 1 Nord Stream (Denglisch, German–English mixed expression for "North Stream 1"; ) is a pair of offshore natural gas pipeline transport, pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. It consists of the Nord Stream 1 ( ...

pipeline. In Torzhok, the Northern Lights pipeline intersects with the

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

–Saint Petersburg pipeline supplying the Saint Petersburg area,

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. The Minsk–

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

–

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

branch line supplies Lithuania and

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

while the

Ivatsevichy Ivatsevichy (; ; ) is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Ivatsevichy District. As of 2025, it has a population of 22,264. History Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ivatsevitshy was part of Nowogróde ...

Dolyna Dolyna (, ; ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Kalush Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, south-western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Dolyna urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: In 2001, population was around ...

branch line supplies Ukraine and the

Kobrin Kobryn or Kobrin is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Kobryn District. It is located in the southwestern corner of Belarus, where the Mukhavets river and Dnieper–Bug Canal meet. The town lies about e ...

- Brest-

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

branch line supplies Poland. The system from Torzhok to the West consists of five major trunk pipelines: This part of the system has 6 compressors stations. Its technical input capacity is 51 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year; however, due to the age of the pipeline system, its operational capability is estimated to be 46-48 bcm per year. In 2007, it transported 39 bcm of gas; 20.6 bcm to Belarus for domestic supply and 18.4 bcm for transit to Europe. The total amount of Russian gas transmitted through Belarus to Europe was 70.1 bcm in 2007.

Ownership

The Russian section of the pipeline system is a part of the unified gas system of Russia and is owned and operated by

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...

. The pipeline section on the territory of Belarus became Belarusian property after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and is now owned and operated by

Beltransgaz Gazprom Transgaz Belarus (former name: Beltransgaz) is a natural gas infrastructure and transportation company of Belarus. It operates the main natural gas transit pipelines through Belarus— Northern Lights and Yamal–Europe. Beltransgaz was f ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Lights (Pipeline) Energy infrastructure completed in 1985 Natural gas pipelines in Russia Natural gas pipelines in Belarus Gazprom pipelines Natural gas pipelines in the Soviet Union Belarus–Russia relations