Eugal will be 485 km long, running from the Baltic Sea through Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg to southern Saxony and from there across the border to the Czech Republic. “The project is fully on schedule – we aim to complete Eugal's first string as early as the end of 2019,” said project manager Ludger Humbs. It will have two pipes, each of 1.4 meters diameter, and a combined maximum capacity of 51bn m³/yr. 

Nord Stream 2, which is the sole planned pipeline to supply gas into Eugal, is planned to be completed by the end of 2019, but planning permission is taking longer than expected. Denmark is considering a draft amendment to its law on the continental shelf, on grounds of national security and defence. If the NS2 is no longer able to use its territorial waters, then its operator Gazprom would have to route the line further north in busier shipping lanes and undertake a new seabed survey. Some qualified observers do not expect the line to be operational until summer 2021. 

Nord Stream 1 has just completed five years' service, delivering most of the gas into Opal. 

Eugal will largely shadow the route of the existing Opal pipeline (Map credit: Eugal project company)

William Powell