Natural gas, delivered as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and then reconverted, flows through it to Etzel, where it is partly stored and partly transported onwards via the Norddeutsche Ergastraversale (NETRA) long-distance gas pipeline.
To expand the capacity for transporting gas out of the Etzel natural gas storage facility, the Etzel-Wardenburg (EWA) supply pipeline, running parallel to the NETRA, is now under construction: STREICHER is hereby carrying out construction lot 1, a section of just under 36 kilometres, on behalf of Open Grid Europe (OGE).
Similar to the construction of the WAL, the route here must cross swamp-like areas with a high water level. For this reason, a distance of up to eight metres had to be maintained from the pipe trenches in order not to threaten their stability. To lift and lower the pipe strings, the project team therefore used not only the usual side-loading crawler cranes, but also cable cranes with sufficiently long lattice booms and the necessary lifting capacity.
Nevertheless, work progressed rapidly, not least thanks to favourable weather conditions.