Official start to WAL – Wilhelmshaven
04.08.2022 | Salzgitter AG
The construction of WAL, short for the Wilhelmshaven connecting pipeline that will import LNG via Wilhelmshaven and transport it to storage caverns in Etzel in the municipality of Friedeburg has already commenced. The first pipes from Mannesmann Grossrohr (MGR) – a subsidiary of Salzgitter AG – are already being supplied.
To mark the official start to the construction of the gas pipeline, Olaf Lies, Minister for the Environment, Energy, Construction and Climate Protection of Lower Saxony, met with delegates from the companies participating in the pipeline project, including from transmission system operator OGE, the Friedrich Vorwerk Group, Max Streicher GmbH, and Dr. Christian Boppert from MGR to discuss the project’s current status on site.
Dr. Christian Boppert, MGR’s General Manager attending the event, commented as follows: “As Salzgitter AG’s integrated plant, we are proud to be delivering the pipes for this key strategic pipeline project that is so vital for Germany. At this point, I would like once more to highlight the sound and efficient cooperation between policymakers, authorities and the companies involved.”
Since the almost 30 km long pipeline is to be taken into operation before the year is out, the pipes were produced in the large-diameter pipe mill in Salzgitter before the end of the second quarter.
The pipeline from the new LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven leads close by the Etzel cavern facility where it will be integrated into the existing German gas pipeline network. From there, initially up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas a year can be transported from the North Sea coast to the south and east of the country. In line with OGE requirements, the MGR line pipes are manufactured so as to enable hydrogen to be transported via the pipeline in the future.
Salzgitter AG subsidiary Mannesmann Line Pipe GmbH is contributing additional pipes for the LNG project.