MEGAL Gas Pipeline
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MEGAL Gas Pipeline is an operating natural gas pipeline.[1]
Contents
Location
The pipeline runs from Waidhaus, Oberkappel through Schwandorf, Rothenstadt, Weiherhammer, Rimpar, Gernsheim and Mittelbrunn to Medelsheim
Project Details
- Operator: Open Grid Europe
- Parent Company: Open Grid Europe 51%; GRTgaz 49%
- Current capacity: 22 billion cubic meters per year
- Proposed capacity:
- Length: 693 miles / 1,115 kilometers
- Status: Operating
- Start Year: 1980
Background
The pipeline transports natural gas from the Czech–German and Austrian–German borders to the German–French border.[2] Construction started in 1975 when Ruhrgas and Gaz de France formed a partnership (Mittel-Europäische-Gasleitungsgesellschaft) for transportation of Russian natural gas to France and southern Germany. The pipeline was commissioned in 1980.[3] The pipeline cost €634 million.[4]
In July 2009, the European Commission fined GDF Suez, now Engie, and E.ON €553 million each due to collusion on the MEGAL pipeline. Commission officials claimed there was a deal between the two groups’ predecessor companies – Gaz de France and Ruhrgas – not to sell gas sent via MEGAL into each other's home markets dating from the mid-1970s. The Commission alleged that the companies maintained these arrangements after European gas markets were liberalized despite knowing that the 1975 deal violated competition rules.[4] They were at the time the second largest fines imposed by the European Commission and the first on the energy sector.[4][5] The decision was contested by both companies, who argued that the business rules in 1975 differed from those of today.[5][6]
Technical description
The wholepipeline system is 1,115 km (693 mi) long.[7] It comprises two interconnected pipelines—MEGAL Nord and MEGAL Süd. The MEGAL Nord pipeline consists of two parallel pipelines with a length of 459 km (258 mi) and 449 km (279 mi) from Waidhaus to Medelsheim. It is operated at a pressure of 80 bar (1160 psi), which is secured by three compressor stations.[7] The capacity of the pipeline is 22 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year, or a little more than 60 million cubic meters per day.[2]
The 167-km (104-mi) long MEGAL Süd pipeline between Oberkappel and Schwandorf is operated at a pressure of 67.5 bar, which is secured by two compressor stations. The connecting pipeline between MEGAL Nord and MEGAL Süd is 40-km (25-mi) long and it is connected in Rothenstadt and Schwandorf.[7]
The MEGAL pipeline crosses the Trans Europa Naturgas Pipeline and the Remich pipeline at Mittelbrunn, the SETG (pipeline from the German-Dutch border) at Gernsheim, and the pipeline going to the Ruhr Industrial Area at Rimpar.[7]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ MEGAL pipeline, Wikipedia, accessed April 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Amarendra Bhushan (2009-07-08). "European Union fines E.On AG and GDF Suez euro 553 million each for Megal pipeline for breaking antitrust regulations", CEOWORLD Magazine, Lucentbyte Media Technologies. Retrieved on 2009-07-08.
- ↑ Landmarks in history. Gazprom Export. Archived from the original on 2007-07-16. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Nikki Tait (2009-07-08). "Brussels fines GDF and Eon €1.1bn", Financial Times. Retrieved on 2009-07-08.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ian Traynor (2009-07-08). "Brussels levies €1.1bn fine on gas pact pair", The Guardian. Retrieved on 2009-07-08.
- ↑ "EU cracks down on gas dominance of E.ON, GDF Suez", Reuters (2009-07-08). Retrieved on 2009-07-08.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 MEGAL Pipeline System. GRTgaz Deutschland GmbH. Archived from the original on 2011-06-18. Retrieved on 2010-03-28.
Related SourceWatch articles
Natural Gas Pipelines in Europe
External resources
External articles
Wikipedia also has an article on MEGAL pipeline (MEGAL pipeline). This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License].
