Balticconnector is a proposed natural gas pipeline between Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 and Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, which would allow to connect the Baltics and Finnish gas grids. The aim of pipeline is to increase Finnish import capacities by using Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

's natural gas storage facilities in Inčukalns

Inčukalns

Inčukalns is a village in Inčukalns municipality, Latvia. Inčukalns had 2,028 residents as of 2006....

. Balticconnector will assist ensuring security of gas supply in the region for both side.

The 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) long DN 500 pipeline will be laid at seabed of the Gulf of Finland

Gulf of Finland

The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...

 starting from Ingå

Ingå

Ingå is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...

 in Finland to Paldiski

Paldiski

Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the Pakri peninsula of north-western Estonia. Originally a Swedish settlement known as Rågervik, it became a Russian naval base in the 18th century. The Russians renamed it Балтийский Порт Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the...

 in Estonia. Alternative 140 kilometres (87 mi) long route runs from Vuosaari

Vuosaari

Vuosaari is a neighbourhood in the City of Helsinki, Finland. It is located by the sea in East Helsinki, and with its area of 15.38 km² is geographically the largest district in the city. It also has two Helsinki Metro stations, Rastila and Vuosaari...

 (district of Helsinki] to Paldiski. In Estonia the pipeline will be connected to the existing DN 700 transmission pipeline from Latvia. The import capacity of the new gas pipeline will be 2 billion cubic metres per year.

The pipeline's cost would be €100 million. The feasibility study was completed in May 2007. A preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental impact assessment

An environmental impact assessment is an assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects....

 programme was done in 2010.

The project is developed by the Finnish natural gas company Gasum in cooperation with Eesti Gaas

Eesti Gaas

Eesti Gaas AS is the Estonian natural gas company, which imports and sells natural gas and owns and operates Estonian natural gas transmission system. Eesti Gaas is owned by Gazprom , E.ON Ruhrgas , Fortum Oyj and Itera Latvija ....

of Estonia. It is scheduled to be completed in 2014–2015.

External links

• Balticconnector, Gasum website