Balticconnector

Balticconnector is a bi-directional natural gas pipeline between Ingå, Finland and Paldiski, Estonia operated by Gasgrid Finland and Elering. It connects the Estonian and Finnish gas grids, and provides Finland with access to the Inčukalns underground gas storage facility in Latvia. In addition, the pipeline enables construction of the regional liquefied natural gas terminal.

The subsea pipeline and a nearby data cable were damaged in October 2023. Early assessment is that the damage appears to have been caused by an external mechanical event.

History
The project was proposed originally by the Finnish natural gas company Gasum in cooperation with Eesti Gaas of Estonia. After implementation of the EU third energy package, EG Võrguteenus, a former subsidiary of Eesti Gaas, replaced the latter. Later EG Võrguteenus was acquired by, and became a part of the Estonian transmission system operator Elering. In October 2015, Gasum abandoned the project due to commercial viability. It was replaced by the Finnish state-owned company Baltic Connector OY.

The feasibility study was completed in May 2007. A preliminary environmental impact assessment programme was done in 2010. In 2010, the European Commission financed the investigation of possibilities to create more diversified natural gas grid within the Baltic Sea Region, which included also the Balticconnector project. The seabed studies started in November 2013.

The construction agreement was signed between Elering and Baltic Connector on 17 October 2016. The cornerstone of the pipeline was laid on 8 June 2018 in Ingå. The ceremony was attended by Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure of Estonia Kadri Simson, Minister of the Environment and Energy of Finland Kimmo Tiilikainen, European Commission member Jyrki Katainen and the managers of Elering and Baltic Connector Oy. Laying the offshore pipeline started on 20 May 2019 and was completed on 24 June 2019. Shielding of the offshore section were completed by 12 July 2019.

The onshore section in Estonia was filled with gas on 23 October 2019 and the offshore section was filled with gas on 27 November 2019. The pipeline was inaugurated on 11 December 2019 by ceremonies in Helsinki and Paldiski. The ceremonies were attended by presidents of Estonia and Finland Kersti Kaljulaid and Sauli Niinistö, ministers of economy Taavi Aas and Mika Lintilä, Deputy Director-General of European Commission Energy Directorate Klaus-Dieter Borchardt and the managers of Elering and Baltic Connector Oy.

Balticconnector started commercial operations on 1 January 2020. During the first month of operation it supplied over a third of Finnish gas demand, 885 GWh. By comparison, the domestic Estonian consumption was 565 GWh.

After the commissioning of a gas interconnection between Poland and Lithuania in 2022, Estonia and (via the Balticconnector) Finland have been connected to the Polish and internal EU gas markets, and vice versa; Estonia received LNG shipments via Inkoo LNG terminal in 2023.

Technical description
The project consists of 77 km of a bi-directional offshore pipeline between Ingå in Finland and Paldiski in Estonia, 21 km of onshore pipeline in Finland between Ingå and Siuntio, and 55 km of onshore pipeline in Estonia between Paldiski and Kiili. There are also metering and compressor stations in Ingå and in Kersalu, Estonia. The offshore part is operated jointly by Elering and Baltic Connector, while onshore sections of the pipeline will be developed separately by each party. Originally, there was also a proposal for alternative 140 km long route from Vuosaari (district of Helsinki) to Paldiski.

The offshore section and the Finnish onshore section use 500 mm pipes with an operating pressure of 80 bar. The Estonian onshore section uses a 700 mm pipe with an operating pressure of 55 bar. In Estonia the pipeline is connected to the existing 700 mm transmission pipeline from Latvia, which will be enhanced. The initial capacity of pipeline is 0.9 e9m3/a. Later, it will increase up to 2.6 e9m3/a. The pipeline cost €300 million, of which 206 million were financed by the European Commission.

Onshore section in Estonia was built by EG Ehitus AS, a subsidiary of Eesti Gaas, and the offshore section was built by Allseas. The offshore pipeline was laid by the pipe-laying vessel Lorelay. Pipes were supplied by Corinth Pipeworks Pipe Industry S.A., Greece.

2023 damage incident
As of 2023, the pipeline was transporting 30 GWh/day from Finland to Estonia. On 8 October 2023, around 02:00 local time, the two operating companies Gasgrid Finland and Elering (Estonia) noticed a sudden drop in pressure in the line, from 34.5 bar to 12 bar, and then to 6 bar. The operators closed the valves to stop the flow. They later discovered a leak caused by a damaged pipe in the sea. The EE-S1 telecoms cable, near the pipeline, was also damaged.

On 10 October 2023, the Finnish government announced that the damage to the pipeline may have been deliberate and caused by "external activity". The leak is being investigated by the Finnish Border Guard and the Finnish Security Intelligence Service. Norwegian seismological institute NORSAR reported that it detected a "probable explosion" 40 km north of Paldiski (roughly where Balticconnector and Nord Stream intersect) on the 8 October at 01:20 local time. A few days later investigators stated the damage "appears to have been mechanical, not an explosion". On 11 October 2023, an Estonian Navy commander stated that Finnish images of the damage showed the pipeline's concrete cover had been broken off and the pipeline was badly damaged on one side and out of position. A Finnish member of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats suggested that one possibility was that a ship's anchor had dragged over the pipeline. Five large ships had been near the pipeline shortly before the incident. Finland's National Bureau of Investigations opened an investigation into the potential "intentional damaging" of the pipeline by the Chinese vessel in response.

On 21 October 2023, Finnish authorities reported that the Chinese ship Newnew Polar Bear was in the area at the time of the incident and that the role of this ship is being investigated. On 24 October 2023, it was reported that Finnish authorities had observed gouges in the seabed starting on one side of the pipeline and ending the other side, near where they found a damaged ship's anchor, missing much of one fluke. The anchor was recovered; the NewNew Polar Bear is reported to be missing an anchor.

During the outage, gas supply to the Finnish gas network is based on the FSRU Exemplar, a floating regasification plant with a capacity of 40 TWh/year moored at the port of Inkoo. Gas can also be supplied from the LNG terminal in Hamina at 6 GWh/day and from biogas plants. The pipeline operators state that repairs will take at least five months, with an earliest projected restart in April 2024.

The pipeline resumed commercial operation after repairs were completed on 22 April 2024.

Reactions
Estonia's president, Alar Karis, demanded answers on how the incident could have taken place, stating, "We know that the cause is not nature, but probably human activity. Who, why and how? Negligence or intent? These questions have yet to be answered."

In Finland, the government suggested that "everything indicates" that the Chinese ship damaged the pipeline on purpose with its Minister of European Affairs Anders Adlercreutz saying it's hard to believe that it was not intentional or done without Beijing's knowledge.