Gassco take over the operatorship of the Polarled pipeline

Gassco announced that it has taken over the operatorship of the Polarled pipeline which was built to carry gas initially from the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea to the Nyhamna process plant.  Development operator Statoil transferred the operatorship for Polarled Joint Venture to Gassco on 1 May.

This is the first offshore pipeline to cross the Arctic Circle. The pipeline is running for 482 KM and has a diameter of 36 inches and is designed for a transport capacity for gas of about 70 million cubic metres per day. Construction of the facility began off Nyhamna in western Norway during March 2015, and the final section was laid to Aasta Hansteen in September of the same year. The existing Langeled pipeline runs from Nyhamna to the UK via the Sleipner hub, which is also connected to the transport system exporting Norwegian gas to continental Europe.

Gassco CEO, Frode Leversund said that this pipeline opens a completely new province for supplying Norwegian natural gas to the markets in continental Europe and the UK. In that way, it will strengthen Norway’s position as a reliable and long-term energy supplier.

Image: Frode Leversund (CEO Gassco), Grete Birgitte Haaland (Statoil) and Håkon Ivarjord (Statoil, project managager Polarled). (Photo: Statoil)