EEPR Projects
NET4GAS, s.r.o. invests into the development of its transmission system, responding to the current needs of the Czech and European energy markets. Under the European Energy Program for Recovery (EEPR), where the objective is to increase the security of natural gas supplies in Europe, the European Commission decided to grant financial aid to NET4GAS for the following three projects in 2010:
§ Reverse Flow in Direction West-East
The objective of the EEPR is to increase the security of energy supplies in Europe, particularly by reinforcing cross-border infrastructure (in 2010, the European Union approved 43 projects with a total value of EUR 2.3 billion; find more details in the relevant EU press release here). Additional information on EEPR is available here.
Reverse Flow in Direction West-East
The "Reverse Flow in Direction West-East" project strengthens the transmission capacity and the infrastructure necessary for the reverse flow of gas, i.e. the flow in the west-east direction, at six points of the existing NET4GAS gas transmission system. The purpose of the project is to increase the capacity of the transmission system by 15 million cubic meters per day in the direction from northwest to east, i.e. from the Czech-German border to the Czech-Slovak border. Completing the project allows for diversification of gas supplies to Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, and South Germany (Bavaria).
The Reverse Flow in Direction West-East project consists of six sub-actions on the Czech gas transmission system:
1. Adaptations at Border Transfer Station (BTS) Hora Svaté Kateřiny
The objective of this sub-action is to increase the maximum quantity of gas that can be transmitted from Germany from the Sayda compressor station to the Czech Republic from the current 18 million cubic meters per day to 24 million cubic meters (at 0ْ C) per day. The proposed technical solution consists of installing a new DN 300 orifice plate meter run and two DN 300 ball valves in addition to the metering runs of the second test section (two DN 500). The changes will be made within the existing structure of the BTS Hora Svaté Kateřiny.
2. Adaptations of piping at Junction Point (JP) Hospozín
The proposed interconnection allows for an increase in the quantity of gas transported between the BTS Hora Sv. Kateřiny and the BTS Waidhaus by up to 15 million cubic meters per day. It enables the full use of the capacity of the DN 1000 PN 73.5 from the BTS Hora Svaté Kateřiny to the JP Hospozín. Interconnection using a DN 700 pipe will be built inside the existing structure of the JP Hospozín. Gas will be transmitted via the JP Hospozín in the direction from the BTS Hora Sv. Kateřiny via a DN 1000 PN 73.5 pipeline and subsequently transferred via the proposed interconnection line to a DN 900 PN 61 pipeline through which it will be transmitted in the direction of the JP Rozvadov and the BTS Waidhaus, freeing the capacity of the pipeline in the direction of the BTS Lanžhot.
3. Adaptation of piping at Compressor Station (CS) Kralice nad Oslavou
The purpose of this sub-action is to adapt the piping system at the CS Kralice nad Oslavou to allow for the use of all three gas pipelines for the transmission of natural gas in the west-east direction. Completing this task consists of adapting the spatial arrangement of piping, performing the related construction work and modifying the equipment installed at the compressor station.
4. Adaptation of piping at Junction Point (JP) Malešovice
Similarly as within the JP Hospozín sub-action, this sub-action includes construction of a new interconnection line. The DN 1000 interconnection between the DN 1000 (north) line and the DN 1400 line in the JP Malešovice allows for an increase in the daily transmission volume by up to 35 million cubic meters of natural gas in the direction from the BTS Hora Sv. Kateřiny to the JP Rozvadov and the BTS Lanžhot, especially thanks to the use of the compression output of the CS Kouřim and the CS Kralice.
5. Adaptation of the piping system of hall I. of Compressor Station (CS) Břeclav enabling gas transmission from the Czech Republic to the Slovak Republic
The purpose of this sub-action is reconstructing the piping in the first hall of the CS Břeclav to allow for the usage of the compression output of the turbine units for gas transmission from the Czech Republic to Slovakia. A capacity of up to 25 million cubic meters per day will be available thanks to two-stage compression. The change of transmission direction concerns the DN 800 line; the original operating function of other lines remains unchanged. The newly installed DN 700 interconnection pipeline will be fitted with DN 700 ball valves, which will allow for selection of the transmission flow based on current needs.
6. Adaptation of Border Transfer Station (BTS) Lanžhot for west-to-east transmission
This sub-action focuses on modifying the pipeline, filtering and metering systems at the BTS Lanžhot. The implemented measures will allow for the bi-directional use of existing meter runs in the first metering section, enabling gas transmission from the Czech Republic to Slovakia while compliance with all the relevant commercial metering and gas quality parameters will be ensured.
Czech-Polish Interconnector ("STORK")
The new interconnecting line (approximately ten kilometers in the Czech Republic, 22 kilometers and a border transfer station in Poland) allows for the transmission of gas between the Czech Republic and Poland, so far non-existing, strengthening the integration of the energy markets in the region. The project will increase the capacity of bi-directional gas transmission in the border region and improve the security of supplies, particularly in emergency situations.
The project focuses on the construction of a high-pressure interconnecting line between Poland and the Czech Republic in the section Třanovice – Cieszyn – Skoczów. The project consists of the creation of a direct connection between the respective systems and the launch of gas transmissions between the systems at the level of approximately 0.5 billion cubic meters per year.
The Czech-Polish Interconnector ("STORK") consists of three sub-actions:
1. The first sub-action consists of construction of a new ten-kilometer DN 500, 6.3 MPa pipeline in the Czech Republic, connecting Třanovice with an agreed border point near Český Těšín.
2. The objective of the second sub-action is to construct the Polish section of the pipeline (22 kilometers), connecting the Czech Republic and Poland, the pipeline leading from the BTS Cieszyn as far as the town of Skoczów.
3. The last sub-action includes the construction of a transfer station on the Czech-Polish border, measuring the quantity and quality of natural gas transported between the Czech and Polish transmission systems via the new pipeline (DN500, 6.3 MPa) between Třanovice – Cieszyn – Skoczów.
Connection to Underground Gas Storage (UGS) Tvrdonice
Connecting the UGS Tvrdonice directly to the NET4GAS transit system will allow for extracting gas from the storage facility to the network, desired particularly in case of necessity to strengthen the reverse flow of gas and to increase the security of supplies if gas supplies via Ukraine are interrupted.
The pipeline will be connected to the existing piping system at the CS Břeclav via two branches of a DN 1000, PN 73.5 line to the existing DN 1200 collector on the injection/extraction side in the input/output unit of the CS Břeclav. The planned parameters of the pipeline are DN 1000, 7.35 MPa, and length of 2.7 kilometers.