A Natural Gas Transmission Route through the Baltic Sea

The Nord Stream Pipeline is one of the most signifi cant current infrastructure projects in Europe. It will link the EU to Russia's sizable gas reserves via the Russian gas network. This article details some of the project's major planning challenges and technical aspects, such as pipeline design, pipe specifi cations, the pipe-laying process, commissioning and maintenance. The article also describes the advantages of an offshore pipeline and the detailed seabed survey work that was conducted to make sure the pipeline is stable on the seabed and environmental effects are minimised.