A new facility in Germany for receiving gas exports from Norway has been officially inaugurated in Emden. The inauguration ceremony was performed by Elisabeth Aspaker, Norway’s minister for EEA and EU affairs, with representatives of the German federal and Lower Saxony state governments.
“This is an important milestone in a very good and long-term energy collaboration between Norway and Germany.The new terminal ensures gas supplies to Germany for many decades to come and strengthens Norway’s role as a key energy supplier to the European market.”says Frode Leversund, CEO of Gassco.
This facility replaces the existing Norsea Gas Terminal (NGT), which became operational in 1977 in connection with the development of Norway’s Ekofisk field.It receives a substantial proportion of the Norwegian gas delivered to Germany through the Norpipe pipeline.
“Construction of the new Emden terminal has been one of the most important assignments we at Gassco have ever undertaken as operator.I’m therefore very proud that the construction work has been completed within the agreed schedule and at a lower cost than originally estimated.”observes Leversund
The Gassled joint venture took the investment decision in the autumn of 2012. The new terminal has been constructed on an unused part of the existing terminal site. Physical work began in the autumn of 2013 after the contract to build the facility had been awarded to Linde Engineering Dresden GmbH.
While the project has not increased export capacity for Norwegian gas, the new terminal’s functionality will be well tailored to meet future demand for processing gas from the Ekofisk area and other parts of the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).
Facts
- The project has been completed within the schedule and well below budget.
- About 2 000 tonnes of steel, 1 700 metres of large-diameter piping, 250 000 metres of instrument cables, 330 000 metres of electrical cables and 10 000 tonnes of concrete have been installed on the site. In addition, 1 710 concrete piles have been driven in to stabilise the ground. The new terminal covers about 1.2 hectares (12 000 square metres).
- The terminal has a daily capacity of 34.1 million standard cubic metres (scm).
- No less than 1.2 million hours were worked at the construction site, involving personnel from 20 different nations.
- An overarching objective for Gassco has been to implement the project without injury to people or harm to the environment. The main challenge has been to develop a common health, safety and environmental (HSE) culture across all the companies involved. Viewed overall, the HSE results are good.
Source:Gassco
