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Two Gas Pipelines Through the Baltic Sea to
Meet the Future Gas Needs of the European Union
a report by
Subsea & Pipelines
Jens Rosendal Valeur
Chief Consultant, Ramboll Oil & Gas
Nord Stream is a natural gas pipeline that will link Russia and the EU via area. The population density varies from more than 500 inhabitants
the Baltic Sea. In 2005, the EU’s gas imports were 314 billion cubic metres per square kilometre in the urban areas of Poland, Germany and
(bcm), and this figure is projected to grow by almost 200bcm to 509bcm Denmark to fewer than 10 inhabitants per square kilometre in the
per year by 2025.
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Nord Stream will meet about 25% of this additional northern areas of Finland and Sweden.
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requirement by connecting the European gas pipeline network to the
world’s largest gas reserves. In order to meet future energy demands in The Baltic Sea is connected to the surrounding oceans through the
the EU, the EU Commission has launched the Trans-European Energy narrow, shallow-water Danish straits Little Belt, Great Belt and Oresund
Networks (TEN-E) programme. The Commission particularly suggests (0.8, 16 and 4km wide, respectively), which connect the brackish water
expansion of the EU’s supply relationship with Russia. The Nord Stream of the Baltic Sea with the oceanic water of the North Sea. Two sills in
project, which consists of two gas pipelines at the bottom of the Baltic Sea this transition zone (the Dars Sill, with a water depth of 18m, and the
connecting Russia with Germany, has been designated an EU priority Drogden Sill, with a water depth of 8m) effectively limit the inflow of
project within the TEN-E programme. Figure 1 shows the planned Nord saline, oxygen-rich water to the Baltic Sea to rare occurrences of storms
Stream pipeline route (represented by the blue dotted line) from Russia to from the west. The average water depth of the Baltic Sea is
Germany. The brown areas represent major gas-bearing geological areas approximately 52m, and the maximum depth is 459m. The water
in the region, and the brown lines represent the existing gas transport column in the Baltic Sea is stratified by an abrupt halocline, hampering
infrastructure in northern Europe. The Nord Stream pipeline project is a the vertical mixing of water and the vertical diffusion of oxygen. The
response to the fact that the major gas fields in northern Europe are topography of the seabed is characterised by basins separated by sills
situated in Russia and offshore on the Russian and Norwegian continental at different depths.
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Of special concern in the Baltic Sea are areas
shelves, whereas most of the energy consumption takes place in western where conventional and chemical munitions were dumped during and
Europe. In particular, the Shtokman Field in the Russian part of the Barents subsequent to both World War I and World War II; some of these areas
Sea is expected to supply gas through the Nord Stream pipelines. The are located along the planned pipeline route. In particular, the Baltic
purpose of the Nord Stream pipeline project is to deliver gas from the Sea was used as a dumping ground for chemical munitions left over
large Russian gas fields (onshore and offshore in the Barents Sea) to the from World War II; it has been estimated that approximately 40,000
countries of the EU, which are facing the challenge of decreasing tonnes of chemical munitions were dumped in the Baltic Sea.
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domestic production and increasing demand for gas in the future.
The surface water temperature of the Baltic Sea varies from 0–5ºC in
The Nord Stream Pipeline Project winter (the eastern Gulf of Finland is usually covered by ice for some
Each of the two Nord Stream pipelines, which are planned to be months in winter) to approximately 15ºC during the summer months.
constructed during 2010–2012, has an internal diameter of 115.3cm The temperature variation is smaller in the deepwater of the Baltic
(see Figure 2). They will run from Portovaya Bay near Vyborg on Russia’s Sea. The water transparency decreases during the summer because of
Baltic coast through the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea to Lubmin in algae in the water column.
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A decreasing summertime water
the Greifswald area on the northern coast of Germany. Nord Stream will transparency has been observed in the Baltic Sea over the last 100
enable the annual transportation of 55bcm of natural gas from Russia years due to increased eutrophication caused by the human-induced
to the European gas grid. Nord Stream is scheduled for commissioning increased supply of nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture,
in 2011, providing the first pipeline leg and a transport capacity of about industry and households. In the Baltic Sea there are around 70
27.5bcm per year of natural gas. Once the second phase of construction saltwater fish species and another 30–40 brackish or freshwater
has been completed in late 2012, the transport capacity for natural gas species. The Baltic cod is the most economically important species for
will be doubled by means of the parallel pipeline leg to a total of 55bcm commercial fishing in the Baltic Sea.
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per year. The two pipelines will run almost parallel along the floor of the
Baltic Sea, approximately 100m apart. Each of the pipelines has a total The above-described unique environment, in combination with the
offshore length of about 1,220km. fact that the Baltic Sea has existed in its present form only since the
latest glaciation, makes the ecosystem of the Baltic Sea both unique
The Baltic Sea – A Unique and Vulnerable Environment and vulnerable to changes in environmental conditions. In the 1990s,
The Baltic Sea is a unique aquatic ecosystem. It is considered the the straits of the Great Belt and Oresund were exposed to major
world’s largest estuary, forming the transition zone between construction works in relation to the construction of bridges and
seawater and the freshwater input of more than 200 large rivers.
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tunnels across the straits connecting the two largest islands of
The Baltic Sea has a surface area of 415,000 km
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,
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a catchment area Denmark and connecting Sweden and Denmark. Valuable information
of approximately 1.7 million km
2
and a volume of approximately from the environmental investigations for these projects (before,
22,000km
3
. Approximately 85 million people live in its catchment during and after construction works)
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has been used when assessing
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© TOUCH BRIEFINGS 2009
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