Nord Stream AG conducted annual maintenance works on its twin gas pipeline system between August 11 and 20, 2015 with a temporary shutdown of both lines.

Regular maintenance works are an essential part of Nord Stream’s long-term pipeline integrity management strategy to ensure that the pipelines will be able to continue transporting up to 55 bcm of gas per year safely and efficiently for at least 50 years. The works included annual maintenance of mechanical components, as well as testing of the automation system, the company informed.

The schedule for these maintenance activities was agreed and coordinated with Nord Stream’s upstream and downstream pipeline partners well in advance. The temporary interruption of supplies was factored into the nominations of gas planned for Nord Stream to transport to downstream European partners.

The Nord Stream twin pipeline system runs from Vyborg, Russia to Lubmin near Greifswald, Germany. The two 1,224-kilometre offshore pipelines are the most direct connection between the vast gas reserves in Russia and energy markets in the European Union.