NEL pipeline

The NEL (Nordeuropäische Erdgasleitung (English: Northern European natural gas pipeline), formerly known as Norddeutsche Erdgasleitung, is a 440 km long natural gas pipeline in Germany.

Route
The pipeline runs from Lubmin near Greifswald through Sülstorf and Achim to Rehden. It connects the Nord Stream 1 pipeline with the Rehden-Hamburg and MIDAL pipelines. The pipeline started operations on 5 November 2012. Between Sülstorf and Achim, it uses a pre-existing installation.

Technical features
The diameter of the pipeline is 56 in and it uses 100 bar operating pressure. Its capacity is 20 e9m3 of natural gas per year. The pipeline is expected to cost around €1 billion.

The developer of the pipeline asked exemption from the network access and transit fees regulation; however, this request was denied.

Project company
The pipeline was built by OPAL NEL TRANSPORT GmbH. It is operated by NEL Gastransport GmbH, owned by WIGA Transport Beteiligungs-GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture of Wintershall Dea and Gazprom.