Gasgrid Finland and the Estonian gas transmission system operator Elering noticed an unusual drop in pressure in the Balticconnector offshore gas interconnection pipeline running between the countries in the early hours of October 8, 2023. The pipe section was isolated shortly after the discovery by closing Balticconnector’s valves. The gas leak caused by the verified damage in the pipe section halted with closing the valves and thus isolating Balticconnector. Currently, the gas transmission between Finland and Estonia has been interrupted, and the supply of gas from the Inkoo LNG terminal has been secured until Balticconnector returns to commercial use. The state of Finland’s gas system has remained stable during Balticconnector’s unavailability.
The commissioning of the Balticconnector pipeline has progressed according to plans, and the inspections of the last onshore connection works in Finland and Estonia have now been finalized successfully. In the next phase, the pipeline will be filled with gas and the Finnish and Baltic gas systems will operationally prepare for gas transmission in Balticconnector.
The prerequisites for commercial deployment will be achieved according to plans and Balticconnector will be available to market participants from Monday 22 April 2024.
Gasgrid will inform about the developments in the situation on its website gasgrid.fi as more information becomes available.
More information:
Janne Grönlund, SVP, Gasgrid Finland, +358 40 036 8825
