The ceremony devoted to the accomplishment of gas pipeline took place on September 9th in Sakiai region of Lithuania.
As the deputy Chair of “Gazprom” Valery Golubev noted, availability of two-line gas pipelines and of compressed air station near Vilnius that will be commissioned next year assure for this objective to be achieved.
V. Golubev also specifies that almost two-fold increase of gas supplies will intensify economic development of Kaliningrad region.
New gas pipeline will promote the security of Lithuanian gas-supply, provide new prospects to increase gasification and gas supplies to Lithuanian consumers.
General Director of Lithuanian Company on Gas Import and Transportation Lietuvos dujos Viktoras Valentukevicius underlined that the accomplishment of main gas pipeline to Kaliningrad at the cost of about 11 million Euro will also promote security of Lithuania itself. As now both energy blocks of Kaliningrad Power Plant will operate on natural gas, there shouldn’t be breaks in gas supplies.
In accordance with instructions of the Government “Gazprom” fulfils the “Plan of Actions to Provide Gas Supplies to Kaliningrad Region of 2.5 billion cubic meters by 2010”. The plan anticipates the construction of the second line of the gas pipeline.
Minsk-Vilnius-Kaunas-Kaliningrad in one technologic corridor with the acting first line of the gas pipeline of the capacity of 1.4 billion cubic meters commissioned in 1985.
The total length of the second line is 139,2 km.
Except for that, the plan suggests construction of Kaliningrad Underground Gas Storage (UGS) to cover daily and season irregular consumption, and to reserve gas in case of abnormally frosty winters and emergency situations. The first pilot complex of UGS will be commissioned in the end of 2009.
It is also planned to increase the capacity of compressed air station “Krasnoznamenskaya” to assure planned gas supplies via the pipeline Minsk-Vilnius-Kaunas-Kaliningrad.
Except for that, within the territory of Lithuania in order to increase gas supplies to Kaliningrad region Lietuvos dujos company has built looping from Gas Measuring Station “Sakiai” till the boarder with the Russian Federation of 18 km long and of 700 mm in diameter; also currently there are ongoing projects on extension of GMS “Sakiai” capacity up to 480 thousand cubic meters per hour by December 2009, as well as construction of a new compressed air station near Vilnius (CAS "Yaunyunay") (term of accomplishment - 2010).
Gas export to Lithuania is performed under the basis of long-term contracts in force up to 2015 inclusive. The capacity of natural gas supplies to the Republic in 2008 comprised about 3.1 billion cubic meters.
Lietuvos dujos purchases, delivers, distributes and sells gas in Lithuania, and transits Russian gas to Kaliningrad region. OAO “Gazprom” owns 37% of the company’s stocks.
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