22 years ago, on 6 November 1999, the transcontinental Yamal-Europe gas pipeline was commissioned. It became an important corridor for the supply of Siberian gas to Europe at the time of its creation. Due to the scale and significance of the construction of the gas pipeline, the project was immediately named as the “Construction of the Century”.

The total length of the 1,420mm diameter pipeline is more than 2,000km. It passes through Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany, connecting the gas fields of Western Siberia with the European consumers. The starting point of the pipeline is Torzhok in the Tver region, and its finish line is on the Mallnow compressor station in Frankfurt an der Oder. There are 15 compressor stations on the Yamal-Europe pipeline route: 4 in Russia, 5 in Belarus: Nesvizhskaya, Krupskaya, Slonimskaya, Minskaya and Orshanskaya, 5 in Poland and 1 in Germany.

The pipeline became an additional transport corridor for Russian gas supplies to Europe, outpassing Ukrainian territory. Its construction began in 1994, with a design capacity of 32.9 bcm per year, but further development brought supplies to a record 34.7 bcm in 2013.

Through Belarus there are 575 km of pipeline pass.140 km of them – is the linear section that was built by the BELTRUBOPROVODSTROY construction team. The work was commissioned by Beltransgaz (now Gazprom Transgaz Belarus), which has become the sole owner of the pipeline in Belarus since the project had been started.

Construction of the Belarusian section of the main gas pipeline started from the Nesvizh compressor station towards the Polish border. In the first construction phase a 200 km long section was planned to be constructed. BELTRUBOPROVODSTROY became the general contractor for the 100 km section of the linear main pipeline and the construction of an underwater crossing over the Shchara River.

Subsequently, another 375 km of the Yamal-Europe main pipeline was built from the Russian border to the Nesvizh compressor station via the Minsk, Krupskaya and Orsha compressor stations. At this stage, BELTRUBOPROVODSTROY performed construction work on 40 km section of the main gas pipeline. In addition to laying the linear part of the pipeline, BELTRUBOPROVODSTROY installed supply loops with process piping of air coolers at the Minsk compressor station.

The Yamal-Europe gas pipeline was commissioned on 6 November 1999. The construction and commissioning of the Belarusian section of the main gas pipeline is a significant stage in the development of the oil and gas industry in Belarus and our country’s economy as a whole. The successful implementation of the Yamal-Europe project has become a new page in the development of energy supplies to the European region and has strengthened interethnic industrial ties between the countries. Persons of the highest level of the countries participating in the project have been controlling the construction process.  Despite the fact that more than 20 years have passed since the project was commissioned, the successful implementation and the experience gained remains a landmark in the history of BELTRUBOPROVODSTROY and a foundation for the development of our partnerships with the customers of an equally high level as Gazprom. Today, the repair and maintenance work on Gazprom’s Torzhok-Minsk-Ivatsevichi gas pipeline, the construction of SevKomNefteGas’ facility «Severo-Komsomolskoye field interfield gas and oil pipeline» in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and many others remain among our huge projects.

*the photos are for illustrative purposes only