Offshore staff
PORTOVAYA BAY, Russia – The final joint of the second Nord Stream gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea has been welded in Portovaya Bay.
This connected the offshore section of the pipeline to the onshore section, and to onshore infrastructure on the Russian coast near Vyborg.
The pipeline was due to be filled with process (buffer) gas, the final stage before commissioning.
It should start to deliver gas to Europe this fall.
The 1,224-km (760-mi)Nord Stream pipeline system runs across the Baltic Sea Portovaya Bay (near Vyborg) to the German coast, near Greifswald.
With two parallel lines onstream, annual throughput will be 55 bcm (1.9 tcf).
9/4/2012
