Onboard the three vessels responsible for the construction of Baltic Pipe, final preparations are being made before they set sail and begin laying the gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.

Baltic Pipe is in the construction phase in the onshore and offshore part of the project. In April this year, drilling of a tunnel for the gas pipeline on the Polish coast began. Similar work in Denmark will also start soon. Since last year, research vessels have been checking the project route once again for unexploded ordnance and environmental issues. In the summer, three specialised offshore units will begin laying some 274 km of gas pipeline on the seabed of the Baltic Sea.

On 5 May this year in Rotterdam on one of such sea vessels named "Castorone" a meeting was held on the final arrangements concerning the construction of the Baltic Pipe offshore gas pipeline. The meeting was attended among others by Piotr Naimski - Minister, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure, Aldo Amati - Italian Ambassador to Poland and representatives of the Management Boards of GAZ-SYSTEM and Saipem.

"The construction of a gas pipeline from Norwegian fields to Poland is in its final stage. Implementation of the strategy for diversification of gas supply sources and directions will be complemented by laying a gas pipeline section on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The consistent actions of the Law and Justice government have brought visible results after 5 years. Today's meeting with the contractor confirms that we are fully ready to start offshore works, which means that on 1 October of the next year, 2022, gas will flow from the Norwegian shelf to Poland," said Piotr Naimski, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure - said Piotr Naimski, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure.

"This year we plan to complete the welding of the offshore gas pipeline. Next year, we will perform the necessary pressure tests, trials and certifications related to the approval of the offshore gas pipeline for use. The current preparations for Castorone's entry into the Baltic Sea confirm that the project assumptions are being implemented according to plan. By October next year, we will have completed all the elements of this complex investment programme and will be ready to import gas from the Norwegian shelf via Denmark to Poland " said Tomasz Stępień, President of GAZ-SYSTEM.

The Baltic Pipe project consists of 5 main components: construction of the gas pipeline at the bottom of the North Sea, development of the Danish transmission system, construction of the compressor station in Denmark, construction of the gas pipeline on the bottom of the Baltic Sea and development of the Polish transmission system. It is aimed at creating a new corridor for natural gas supplies from deposits located in Norway to Poland. It is implemented by two transmission operators - Polish GAZ-SYSTEM and Danish Energinet. The completion date for the project is 1 October 2022.