A Connecting Hub on the German Coast
Nov. 10, 2011
The Lubmin landfall facility is the logistical link between the Nord Stream Pipeline and the European gas distribution grid. The natural gas that arrives here from Siberia is prepared by OPAL and NEL before it is further transported to users throughout Europe.
The landfall facility in Lubmin, Germany is a hub of sorts, the actual switching point of a cross-border project that will contribute toward a secure energy supply to Europe for decades. At the same time, the landfall facility is only a small part of the puzzle in the entire framework. Where does the gas that is prepared here come from, and where does it flow thereafter?
The Gas Comes from Siberia
The Russian city of Novy Urengoy is situated in Western Siberia, 2,500 kilometres from Moscow, and only 60 kilometres from the Arctic Circle. Some 74 percent of all Russian natural gas comes from this region – it is no wonder that the location is sometimes also called "Russia's unofficial gas capital."
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Much of the natural gas that will flow through Nord Stream’s twin pipelines also comes from the region where the Yuzhno-Russkoye gas field is located. It is the biggest natural gas field developed in Russia to date. Nord Stream shareholders Gazprom, E.ON and Wintershall have a stake in this gas field, where reserves are estimated at 600 billion cubic metres (bcm). There is enough gas in this source alone to guarantee all Russian gas exports to Germany for the next six years. From 142 drill holes, spread around an area of 1,100 square kilometres, the lines lead to an ultra-modern preparation facility. A total of 75 million cubic metres is handled there every day. The raw gas is heated, stripped of water content, purified, re-cooled, compressed and then sent on its way through Gazprom’s gas pipeline system.
Transport by Nord Stream
The gas flows 2,500 kilometres from West Siberia to Vyborg. There, in the landfall facility in Portovaya Bay, 1.5 kilometres from the Baltic Sea, the natural gas is fed from the Gryazovets-Vyborg pipeline into the Nord Stream Pipeline. As operator, Nord Stream provides transport capacities through its pipeline system. Nord Stream has entered into a gas transportation agreement with OOO Gazprom Export to book up to 55 bcm capacity annually. The pipelines will transport gas from the entry point in Russia to the exit point in Germany, where the gas will be received by the connecting OPAL (Baltic Sea Pipeline Link) and NEL (North European Gas Pipeline) overland pipelines. In total, it takes the gas almost 10 days to make the journey from Siberia to Germany.
On the Way to Europe
At the OPAL and NEL receiving station, the incoming and outgoing gas streams are checked for quality, subjected to official measurement, and adjusted in terms of pressure and volume as well as temperature, before being transported further.
The OPAL pipeline links Nord Stream with the existing European natural gas transport systems. In future, up to 35 bcm of gas will flow through the OPAL pipeline annually. This amount is enough to supply a third of Germany with natural gas for a year. The pipeline was completed in summer 2011, and runs south from Lubmin to Brandov, in the Czech Republic. Along its 470-kilometre route, the pipeline runs through three German federal states, and crosses a total of 172 roads, four highways, 27 rail lines, and 39 bodies of water. Since the gas loses pressure over the long route, it is repressurised at a compressor station in Baruth, south of Berlin.
The second pipeline that links the Nord Stream system with the European gas market is NEL. Construction of the pipeline began in spring 2011, with completion expected in autumn 2012. The NEL pipeline is 440 kilometres long, and runs westward across northern Germany from Lubmin to Rehden, in Lower Saxony. The pipeline has a capacity of over 20 bcm each year, which roughly corresponds to one-fifth of Germany’s annual consumption.
The gas from the OPAL and NEL pipelines will be transported onward to Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the UK, along with other countries.
Gas flow through Line 1 of the Nord Stream Pipeline system began in November 2011. Construction of Line 2 commenced in May 2011. The second line will be operational in the fourth quarter of 2012. Together, the twin pipelines will have the capacity to transport a combined total of about 55 bcm of gas a year – that is enough to satisfy the energy demand of more than 26 million European households.
