Energy giant EWE, based in Oldenburg, Germany, is planning a 70-km underground gas pipeline from the LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven to the gas storage facility in Nüttermoor und Jemgun in northwest Lower Saxony.

The planning approval process is presently underway with the Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie (LBEG) and EWE believes they will secure their approval by April.  Construction, says EWE, can already begin in April.

The first section of the pipeline should be ready to operate in the fall of 2023.  EWE says this pipeline will transport up to 6 billion cubic meters of natural gas.  This amount would suffice to supply up to four million households with gas.

Torsten Maus, CEO of the Executive Board at EWE, said it's extremely ambitious to begin developing in a short period of time a 200-Million Euro Project. Nonetheless, he said, "we are currently on schedule and are confident that we will be able to begin preliminary construction work in March. EWE has had to raise the investment for the new pipeline to help cover the general rise in prices -- up to now only 160 million Euros have been proposed.