Conexus will invest in the development and maintenance of the gas transmission network this year an average of €5.7 million
To ensure uninterrupted and reliable gas transmission, the unified gas transmission and storage system operator Conexus Baltic Grid AS ("Conexus") will invest an average of EUR 5.7 million in the development and maintenance of the gas transmission network this year. It is planned to carry out diagnostics of gas pipelines, as well as necessary repairs and reconstruction and rebuilding of system elements, thus strengthening the natural gas transmission infrastructure and ensuring a stable and sustainable gas supply.
This year, internal diagnostics are planned for lines I and II of the Riga-Inčukalns Underground Gas Storage (UGS) transmission pipeline, as well as for 200 km of transmission pipelines using MRI. Repair works will also be carried out, including the restoration of corrosion insulation along more than 7 km of the pipeline, as well as various sections of the transmission pipelines Riga-Paņeveža, Vireši-Tallina and Iecava-Liepāja.
Further development of the gas transmission infrastructure will include the construction of interconnections in the Pleskava-Riga and Izborska-Inčukalna UGS transmission pipelines, as well as the rebuilding of the heating system of the Riga-1 gas regulation station and the rebuilding of the anode earthings of the transmission pipelines. The section of the transmission pipeline Izborska-Inčukalna UGS is also planned to be rehabilitated in several parts, and the construction project for the road Lode stacija - Jaunrauna - Veselava is planned to be completed, with construction work possibly starting already this year.
"Every year, we make targeted investments in both the day-to-day maintenance of the gas transmission system and in new investment projects to ensure infrastructure safety and business continuity. This not only allows us to identify and address potential risks, such as technical faults, in a timely manner, but also to ensure the long-term sustainability of the system and transmission security," said Rinalds Dimiņš, Conexus Technical Director.
As a follow-up to last year's investments in natural gas transmission infrastructure, extensive diagnostics of transmission pipelines have been carried out, including the inspection of 21 pipeline sections with a total length of 186.7 km using MRI. Last year, internal diagnostics were also carried out on more than 160 km of gas pipelines at the interconnections with Estonia and Lithuania, which allowed for the early identification of necessary improvements.
Repairs were also carried out on transmission gas pipelines, rehabilitating damaged sections on several key routes, including Vireši-Tallina, Riga-Paņeveža and Iecava-Liepāja, Riga- Inčukalna PGK Line II, and the branch to the Sloka gas regulation station. In total, 118 sleeves were installed to reinforce damaged sections and 25 pipeline sections were replaced. Insulation was restored on more than 4 km of gas pipelines to improve the longevity of transmission pipelines.
Last year also saw the completion of major development work on the Izborska-Inčukalna UGS transmission pipeline's crossings with rivers and roads. Work was carried out on several road sections, such as Ieriķi-Kempji and Augšlīgatne-Līgatne, as well as improved crossings with the Līgatne and Amata rivers.