Amber Grid, the gas transmission system operator implementing the GIPL gas pipeline project connecting Lithuania and Poland, has received the completion certificate for the third stage of construction of the GIPL gas pipeline, issued by the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate. The last, fourth construction phase and the completion of the Santaka gas metering and pressure-limiting station are planned to be inspected in the near future and the completion certificates are expected to be received by the end of this year.
“We have already received the third confirmation that 130 out of 165 km of the GIPL pipeline have been properly installed, that the quality of the pipeline complies with the legal requirements, and that the pipeline is safe and able to transmit the maximum gas flows expected. In the next couple of months, we will finalise the construction of the gas pipeline to Poland. At present, 95% of the gas pipeline has been completed in Lithuania. The golden seam of the GIPL pipeline was welded last week, marking the interconnection of the Lithuanian and Polish gas transmission systems, and at the end of October, we plan to fill the section of the pipeline near Alytus with gas,” said Nemunas Biknius, CEO of Amber Grid.
The third stage of the GIPL construction consists of a 27 km pipeline section in the Alytus district. The first construction completion certificate was received in March this year and the second construction phase was approved in April. In July, the entire GIPL pipeline in Lithuania was subjected to maximum load tests. The results of the tests showed that the pipeline is suitable for the safe transmission of natural gas.
At the end of October, the GIPL pipeline in the Alytus district will be filled with gas, and in November, once all the technological works have been completed, the gas will be injected into the entire GIPL pipeline in Lithuania up to the border with Poland.
GIPL will connect the Lithuanian, Baltic and Finnish gas markets to the European Union. The pipeline will enable gas to be sourced from a variety of sources, make more efficient use of Lithuania’s gas transmission system and the Klaipėda LNG terminal, and, in the future, ensure the flow of biomethane and hydrogen in the region. The GIPL interconnection will be able to transport up to 27 TWh of gas per year towards the Baltic States and up to 21 TWh per year towards Poland.
