Shutdown of Baltic Pipe temporarily halts gas flow to Poland

Danish energy company Energinet is preparing for the Baltic Pipe project to reach its full capacity, which requires a temporary shutdown of the pipeline.

The receiving terminal of the Baltic Pipe project – located at Varde in Western Jutland, Denmark – was put into operation on 1 November 2022, enabling it to receive gas from Norway, which could be sent to Poland via the Danish gas system. This was previously expected on 1 October, however, Energinet had to postpone the commissioning three times due to technical challenges.

In the meantime, the Baltic Pipe project was commissioned with partial capacity on 1 October after the pipelines in the North Sea and in the Little Belt were pressure tested and the gas pipeline was pressurized all the way to the Nybro terminal. In Zealand, the pipe was pressurized from the Great Belt to the new compressor station in Everdrup and from Everdrup to Faxe, from where the gas would be sent through the Baltic Pipe to Poland.

The last sections on land, in East Jutland and in West Funen, where the work was long at standstill, were to be completed in November. Afterwards, this was expected to be tested and ready for full operation at the end of November.

While the Baltic Pipe project is now close to full capacity, Energinet informed last Friday that the gas flow to Poland would be suspended from Monday, 28 November 2022, due to necessary adjustments.

The company outlined that the compressor station in Southern Zealand would be connected to pipelines on Tuesday, 29 November, and the gas flow would gradually increase. The Baltic Pipe is expected to reach full capacity – planned to be up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas (10 BCM) per year – on Wednesday, 30 November.

“During the shutdown, gas will still be supplied from the North Sea to the receiving terminal in Western Jutland,” highlighted Energinet.