DeepOcean 1 UK Limited, a subsidiary of DeepOcean Group Holding BV (DeepOcean), has been awarded a significant contract for performing ploughing operations on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea.

The Nord Stream 2 Project concerns the construction of an offshore natural gas transmission system comprising of two 1,220 km pipelines from the Russian Baltic Sea to the German Baltic Coast. In December 2017 Nord Stream 2 AG awarded DeepOcean a contract for ploughing operations along pre-defined sections of the pipeline. The award covers project management, engineering, survey and ploughing activities.

The onshore project team will work out of DeepOcean’s offices in Darlington, UK. Offshore execution will be performed with DeepOcean’s AMP500 Plough in two campaigns over 2018 and 2019.

DeepOcean’s Commercial Director for Cable Installation & Trenching, Andrew Piasecki, said:

“DeepOcean are proud to be selected by Nord Stream 2 AG as their solution for ploughing works on this milestone project. We shall deploy our AMP500 plough to bury the 48” pipelines, building upon our extensive experience in the offshore trenching market and enhancing our position as a trusted partner for challenging burial projects. We look forward to supporting our client in delivering this key project safely and to specification.”

About DeepOcean

DeepOcean is an integrated provider of safe, high quality, innovative services and technologies for the subsea industry. Demonstrating an extensive track record, DeepOcean offers a breadth of subsea services including Survey and Seabed-mapping, Subsea Installation, Seabed Intervention, Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR), and Decommissioning.

About Nord Stream 2

Nord Stream 2 is a planned pipeline through the Baltic Sea, which will transport natural gas over 1,200 km from the world’s largest gas reserves in Russia via the most efficient route to consumers in Europe. Nord Stream 2 will largely follow the route and design of the successful Nord Stream Pipeline. With Europe’s domestic gas production projected to halve in the next 20 years, Nord Stream 2’s twin pipeline system will help Europe to meet its future gas import needs. It has the capacity to transport 55 billion cubic metres of gas per year, enough to supply 26 million European households.

This secure supply of natural gas, with its low CO2 emissions, will also contribute to Europe’s objective to have a more climate-friendly energy mix with gas substituting for coal in power generation and providing back-up for intermittent renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power.

Nord Stream 2 builds on the successful experience of construction and operation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline (2012 – to present). Already during construction, Nord Stream was recognised as a benchmark project in terms of compliance with stringent industrial and environmental safety requirements as well as stakeholder engagement. This gas pipeline has become a symbol of mutually beneficial international cooperation and a key element of the European energy security. The results of annual monitoring show that the environmental impact caused by the construction and operation of Nord Stream was minor, local and short term only and, in some cases, considerably lower than predicted by the original environmental impact assessments.

The Nord Stream 2 project was initiated by PJSC Gazprom and is supported by a number of leading international energy companies Uniper SE and BASF SE/Wintershall Holding GmbH (Germany), Royal Dutch Shell plc (the UK and the Netherlands), OMV AG (Austria) and Engie S.A. (France).