Pipe-laying successfully completed. Preparatory work for commercial commissioning is imminent. First gas feed-ins possible in February 2024.
Kassel. With the Above Water Tie-In (AWTI), the pipe-laying work in the two sea sections of the OAL is now complete. The pipeline has fully been connected through and laid on the seabed. The 50-kilometer-long pipeline connects the planned LNG terminal in the port of Mukran with the German gas transmission network in Lubmin. After receiving approval for the first sea section, the OAL has been built within a very short time since 21 August 2023.
"This means that the ambitious goal of enabling gas feed-ins into this pipeline in the winter of 2023/24 has been achieved. This is the contribution we can make as a transmission system operator to improving German and European security of supply and its resilience to crises. Despite a very ambitious schedule, we managed to complete the OAL in record time. My sincere thanks go to all those involved in the implementation," says Ulrich Benterbusch, Managing Director of GASCADE Gastransport GmbH (GASCADE).
Before the OAL can be put into commercial operation, it will first be prepared. This includes work to connect the OAL with the infrastructure in the port of Mukran, as well as cleaning and testing the pipeline and filling it with gas: "Gas transport on the OAL is expected to be able to start in February 2024. Injections into the pipeline will then, in principle, be possible," says Ulrich Benterbusch.
