Paldiski gas compressor station
Estonia-Finland interconnector and gas compressor station in Paldiski
Estonia-Finland interconnector and gas compressor station in Paldiski
The project will connect the Baltic and Finnish gas markets and integrate them into the European Union’s common energy market. The investment will significantly increase Finland’s energy security by diversifying the directions of gas supply and provide Finland with access to the Baltics’ strategic underground gas storage facility in Latvia.
The maximum output pressure of the Paldiski compressor station will be 80 bar towards Finland and 54 bar towards the Estonian gas transmission network. The station will have the capacity to transport 7 million m3 of gas per day. Due to the difference in pressure, it is necessary to protect the facilities on the Estonian side from uncontrolled growth.
As part of the investment, the following installation elements were implemented:
– DN500 gas pipeline connecting the Paldiski gas compressor station with the offshore gas pipeline,
– gas compression system based on a centrifugal compressor and a high-speed electric motor with electromagnetic bearings,
– gas filtration system,
– gas reduction and measurement station,
– overpressure protection system between gas pipelines with a pressure of
maximum of 80 bar on the Finnish side and 54 bar on the Estonian side,
– piston sending and receiving station.
As part of its energy strategy, the European Union is striving to build missing energy connections and infrastructures to ensure that each member state has access to independent energy sources and carriers. With the implementation of the installation, Finland has been connected to the European gas transmission system and has become independent of imports from the Russian direction.
In addition, the investment in Estonia, as part of the Balticconnector program, will benefit gas customers throughout the eastern Baltic region, including by reducing transmission costs, and will open the Nordic energy market to the Baltic States, including the possibility of using alternative sources of raw materials such as LNG or biomethane.