First section of the OAL and land section Mukran approved. Pipeline strengthens security of supply and offers a perspective for the green energy future.
Kassel. The Bergamt Stralsund today granted GASCADE Gastransport GmbH (GASCADE) approval for the first section of the Ostsee Anbindungsleitung (OAL) pipeline from Lubmin to kilometre point 26 and the land section Mukran. "We are delighted about this important step in the approval process," commented GASCADE Managing Director Ulrich Benterbusch. "Now we can start the construction of the pipeline."
In the course of the dredging work that will now start immediately to create a pipe trench for the subsequent laying of the pipeline, the dredged material will be transported to interim marine storage facilities by barge. This will increase the volume of shipping in the Greifswald Bodden and parts of the Pomeranian Bay. "The respective working area of the dredgers has an additional safety area that is closed to other shipping traffic," Benterbusch explains about the consequences and promises, "We are making every effort to keep the disruption to shipping as low as possible. GASCADE will keep the administrations responsible for water navigation regularly and closely informed about the ongoing and planned works." The traffic safety centre will then update its notices to shipping in each case. After arriving in the Greifswald Bodden at the end of August/beginning of September 2023, the pipe-laying ship Castoro 10 should then start laying the pipeline as soon as possible.
An offshore pipeline for the green energy future
The approximately 50-kilometre-long OAL will connect the planned LNG terminal in the port of Mukran with the German gas pipeline network in Lubmin. The pipeline is scheduled for mechanical completion at the end of 2023. By feeding regasified LNG into the gas grid, OAL strengthens the security of supply in Germany and Southeast Europe and makes the gas supply as a whole more resilient in the event of a crisis. In perspective, it is possible to convert the pipeline to transport hydrogen. "As the destination point of the OAL, Lubmin will also play an important role in the development of the German hydrogen network in the future," Benterbusch emphasises. "From here, GASCADE will transport hydrogen produced or landed in and around the Baltic Sea southwards as part of the "Flow - making hydrogen happen" project."
