OREANDA-NEWS. October 20, 2011. Today, the commissioning ceremony of the border delivery station Brandov (GAZELLE Project) has taken place. The general contractor is Stroytransgaz. Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, Jana Vanhova, Governor of the Usti nad Labem Region, Sergey Makarov, Chairman of the Management Board of Stroytransgaz, and the management of the operator of the gas transportation system Net4Gas took part in the event.

In his welcoming speech Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, emphasized the critical importance of the entire GAZELLE Project for the country’s energy security and its sustainable economic development.

In his turn Sergey Makarov, Chairman of the Stroytransgaz Management Board, pointed out that the GAZELLE gas pipeline construction is presently the largest project in Russian-Czech cooperation in Czech territory, and to carry it out the parties apply the most advanced and eco-friendly construction technologies. The head of Stroytransgaz also thanked the Czech government as well as Czech partners for the project’s most active support and assured that the project success would serve as a guarantee of the long future cooperation.

Background
Stroytransgaz has long history of project experience in the European market. Since 1994 the company has been successful in carrying out gas pipeline projects in Greece, Finland, Romania and Turkey, and the works are still in progress in Greece and Finland. The company considers the European region as one of the most perspective for its business performance.

The construction of GAZELLE gas pipeline is the first company’s project in the Czech Republic. The contract was signed on November 12, 2010, between Stroytransgaz and NET4GAS. On January 27, 2011 the company opened its Czech branch office to carry out the project.

Within the framework of the first stage of the project (construction of the border delivery station Brandov) the following works were completed: the detailed design and working procedures, the procurement of a part of the technological equipment, as well as the construction of two pig launchers and receivers, four filter separators, a gas disposition terminal, a custody transfer metering station, a gas import metering station, a diesel-generator substation and distribution substation, and connecting pipelines. The completed works also include piping arrangement, the connection of the station to the existing gas pipelines DN 900, 1,000 and 1,400 mm, and the installation of engineering systems. All the works were carried out in accordance with the contractual schedule and obligations.

The second stage of the project includes the construction of 52.3-kilometer part of GAZELLE pipeline with 1,422-mm diameter, two line block valve stations, the installation of cathode protection and power supply systems, the installation of the instrumentation and control systems (excluding SCADA), and the laying of a fiber-optic cable. The works will be completed in October 2012.