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Gas network / Identification and activities

How to identify a gas pipeline

Natural gas pipelines are marked along the way with signposts, plates or other markings to prevent accidental damage. The colour code used for the above-ground high-pressure transmission pipelines is purple and for the above-ground distribution and installation pipelines yellow.  The markings on transmission pipelines feature black text on a yellow background.

In forest areas and built-up areas, a natural gas pipeline can be spotted on the basis of a treeless zone that is 5–10 m wide. All construction work is forbidden within 5 m from a gas pipeline without authorisation by the pipeline owner.

Here is what an excavation prohibition sign looks like:

Maakaasulinjan merkintäkilpi

Pipeline locations

Our transmission pipelines are located in southern Finland. The map application shows the gas pipelines, the related pressure reduction stations acting as customer interfaces, and the signposts. Click on the map.gasgrid.fi link to access the application that shows you the pipeline locations and the safety distances relating to construction work. The map also shows the locations of the anode fields relating to the electrical corrosion protection of pipelines. Use the layer menu to view the safety distances relating to various activities. You can also use the map service to request a statement.

Operating on gas pipelines

It is prohibited to cross a gas pipeline with heavy equipment in unreinforced sections or to work within 5 m from a gas pipeline without Gasgrid Finland’s authorisation and supervision. If you have plans for land use in the vicinity of a natural gas pipeline, study our guidelines and contact our supervisors. Our supervisor will visit the site free of charge and show you the exact location of the gas pipeline. Any drainage ditch clearing and finishing work on ground surface must take place under the supervision of our supervisor.

If you are planning work near a gas pipeline, contact us preferably three working days before your scheduled workday on +358 20 447 8713. Our supervisor will visit the site free of charge.

The transmission pipeline system has been divided into four areas as regards on-site pipeline location guidance and pipeline crossings, earthworks and statements required for projects in the vicinity of transmission pipelines. If you have any questions about geographic data or written authorisations relating to pipelines, you will find the contact details here. On-site pipeline location guidance, crossings at unreinforced sections, construction and projects requiring a statement are also supervised by area in accordance with the contact details form.

Statement procedure concerning activities near gas pipelines

Written authorisations within gas pipeline impact area

Written authorisations are granted through the statement procedure. In the statement procedure, matters to ensure the safety of the gas pipeline in accordance with Government Decree 551/2009 are determined, agreed upon and archived. If you are planning activities that will change the conditions that existed during gas pipeline construction or may cause vibration to a gas pipeline, contact us to find out if the statement procedure will be required.

Contact us well in advance

The most cost-efficient approach is to contact us as soon as the planning stage of your project or construction work begins. This will facilitate issues such as the selection of work methods and materials. You can also contact your local building control services for more information.

Contact us if you are planning any of the following:

  • crossing a gas pipeline with a heavy vehicle on soft or weak ground
  • storage on a pipeline or soil dumping within 50 m from a gas pipeline
  • earthworks within 5 m from a gas pipeline
  • blasting or extraction work within 30 m or extensive extraction work within 100 m from a gas pipeline
  • constructing a building within 30 m from a gas pipeline or within 100 m from an anode field
  • fairway construction within 30 m from a gas pipeline
  • structures conducting electricity (water pipe, high voltage power line, earthing cable, district heating pipeline, etc.) in contact with the ground within 30 m from a gas pipeline
  • altering groundwater surface level (including mire drainage or rehabilitation of a drained mire)
  • land use plan amendment within the impact area if a gas pipeline.
Please note, that it is prohibited to cross a gas pipeline with heavy equipment or to work within 5 m from a gas pipeline without Gasgrid Finland’s authorisation and supervision. If you have plans for land use in the vicinity of a natural gas pipeline, study our guidelines and contact our supervisors. Our supervisor will visit the site free of charge and show you the exact location of the gas pipeline. Any drainage ditch clearing and finishing work on ground surface must take place under the supervision of our supervisor.

If you are planning work near a gas pipeline, contact us preferably three working days before your scheduled workday on +358 20 447 8713. Our supervisor will visit the site free of charge.

To request a written authorisation, fill in the following details and the applicant contact details in the statement request form:

  • location of the site to be constructed or details of the gas pipeline signpost located nearest to the site
  • activity planned in the vicinity of the gas pipeline
  • implementation schedule of the project
  • references to any previous phone calls, reviews and documents.

Project plans, maps, etc. should primarily be submitted as PDF files.

Safety distances from natural gas pipelines

The minimum depth of cover above a pipeline is 1.0 m, with the exception of agricultural field areas where the minimum depth of cover is 1.2 m and bedrock areas where the depth of cover is 0.6 m if the bedrock surface extends 0.6 m above the top surface of the pipeline. As regards underground structures, the minimum distance for parallel installations is 1.0 m and for crossings 0.5 m. The minimum distance of agricultural subsurface drains at crossings is 0.25 m. When determining safety distances of buildings from natural gas transmission pipelines and related above-ground equipment and installations, buildings not part of the gas pipeline system are divided into groups A and B. In case of an emergency, evacuation must be possible via a route to a direction away from the gas pipeline.

Group A

  • public buildings intended for multiple users: premises intended for sleeping accommodation (hotels, hospitals, residential care homes), for gatherings (schools, cinemas, mass merchandisers), and residential buildings (blocks of flats)
  • installations manufacturing, storing or using explosives
  • installations handling or storing hazardous chemicals industrially

Group B

  • residential buildings (houses, terraced houses), workplace buildings
  • non-residential buildings regularly occupied by people
  • separate fenced-off areas (fenced-off playparks or dog parks, sports grounds, horse-racing courses)

Building safety distances to underground natural gas transmission pipeline

Nominal pipe diameter mm Group A distance Group B distance
DN ≤ 200 10 m 5 m
200 < DN ≤ 500 16 m 8 m
DN > 500 20 m 10 m

Safety distances to above-ground parts of the natural gas transmission pipeline

Transmission pipeline device Group A distance Group B distance Highway, main road railway; distance
Pressure reduction-, block valve- and scarper stations 50 m 25 m 25 m
Pressure reduction station 100 m 50 m 50 m
The safety distance is measured from the side of the gas pipeline, at compressor and pressure reduction stations from the protective building and at valve and scraper stations from the outermost valve or scraper trap to the closest part of the building not part of the gas pipeline system.