First String Of Nord Stream 2 Filling With Gas

Russian giant Gazprom, the leader of the Nord Stream 2 AG joint venture, has started the gas-in procedure for the first string of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

This gas-in procedure of the string started on October 4, 2021, following the completion of pre-commissioning activities. The gas filling will be gradually filled to build the required inventory and pressure as a prerequisite for the later technical tests.

Previously, the first string of the pipeline underwent pre-commissioning activities to assure the pipeline's integrity.

This included the internal inspection by special devices – pipeline inspection gauges – as well as external visual and instrumental surveys of the pipeline.

It is worth noting that pre-commissioning steps for the second string are ongoing and Nord Stream 2 AG stated that it would share information regarding further technical steps in due time.

The $11 billion-worth Nord Stream 2 is designed as two parallel 48-inch lines, roughly 1,200 kilometers long, each starting southwest of St. Petersburg and ending at the German coast at Greifswald.

In early September, pipelaying vessel Fortuna welded into place the last pipe of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The vessel lowered pipe number 200,858, the last pipe of the two strings of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, onto the seabed in German waters.

This comes some three months after the first line of the gas pipeline to Germany was completed. Gazprom said on September 10, 2021, that the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had been fully completed.

As for the project, the $11 billion-worth Nord Stream 2 is designed as two parallel 48-inch lines, roughly 1,200 kilometers long, each starting southwest of St. Petersburg and ending at the German coast at Greifswald.

The gas pipelines will have the capacity to transport 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas a year to the EU, for at least 50 years.

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