Lithuania–Latvia Interconnection (, ) is a natural gas pipeline which connects
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
and
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
.
History
Gas pipeline from Lithuanian border to
Iecava
Iecava () () is a town on the European route E67, via Baltica in Bauska Municipality, in the Semigallia region of southern Latvia. The town has a population of around 9700 people. Iecava lies 40 km south of Riga and 23 km north of Bau ...
with the diameter of 500 mm was built in 1962. It is the oldest pipeline in Latvia. In 2013 construction works for enhancement of capacity of interconnection was finished. New discharge capacity will allow transmissions of 6.48 million cubic metres per day from Lithuania to Latvia and 6.24 million cubic metres per day from Latvia to Lithuania. The pipeline is linked with
Estonia–Latvia Interconnection.
Enhancement
ELLI (Enhancement of Latvia-Lithuania interconnection) was included into the third PCI List adopted by the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
on 24 November 2017, in the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan Gas priority corridor. After completion, transmission of natural gas capacity between two countries will roughly double.
The expansion is set to start operating in 2022–2023.
Explosion
On 13 January 2023 an
explosion
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...
happened in part of the pipeline by
Pasvalio Vienkiemiai village,
Pasvalys District Municipality.
[Dujotiekio sprogimas Pasvalio rajone: ugnis lokalizuota, gyventojai raginami užsidaryti langus ir likti namuose]
/ref> Open fire reached up to 50 m in height. As a precaution the entire village of Valakėliai was evacuated.
See also
* Gas Interconnection Poland–Lithuania
Gas Interconnection Poland–Lithuania (GIPL) is a gas pipeline between Poland and Lithuania. The pipeline was commissioned and started commercial operation on 1 May 2022. The length of the pipeline is and the natural gas can flow both direction ...
* List of main natural gas pipelines in Lithuania
References
Natural gas pipelines in Lithuania
Natural gas pipelines in Latvia
Latvia–Lithuania relations
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