Pipe bending plant manufactures bends for the ZEELINK pipeline

Having contributed to the ongoing expansion of the German gas grid with the supply of 31 pipe bends to the Loop Epe–Legden (LEL) project, the pipe bending plant has now booked a significantly larger follow-up order: the ZEELINK project company has ordered a total of 543 pipe bends for the ZEELINK gas pipeline. This means the pipe bending plant is now also contributing to the biggest individual project of Germany's Federal Grid Agency's National Development Plan (NDP) 2016.

The ZEELINK project company is a joint venture between Open Grid Europe GmbH (OGE, 75 percent) and Thyssengas GmbH (25 percent). OGE is responsible for the planning and construction of the pipeline.

The ZEELINK pipeline represents an important and urgently necessary step in the nation-wide transition from L-gas (low calorific gas), whose production will be significantly reduced over the next years, to H-gas (high calorific gas). The project comprises the construction of the new ZEELINK natural gas pipeline from the Belgian-German border near Lichtenbusch to Sankt Hubert near Krefeld and from there to Legden near Ahaus in North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as a compressor station near Würselen in the area of Aachen.The natural gas pipeline with a nominal width of DN 1,000 is planned for a design pressure of DP 100 bar in an overall length of about 215 km. Via existing pipe systems, the ZEELINK can also be connected with the North European Gas Pipeline (NEL) and thus to the Nord Stream pipeline leading up to it, and to Nord STREAM 2, which is currently under discussion.The start of construction of the ZEELINK pipeline is scheduled for the beginning of April 2019.

For the straight sections of ZEELINK, spiral-weld pipe from Mannesmann Grossrohr GmbH, another Salzgitter Group company, will be used. The pipe bend order will be handled in proven cooperation as all projects completed by Salzgitter Group companies: The plate is supplied by the Salzgitter Group's plate rolling mill. The starting pipe for the bends will be produced by EUROPIPE GmbH, a joint venture between the Salzgitter Group and the AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke.The pipe bending plant then bends the welded straight large-diameter pipes to mill bends and cut bends. Mill bends are provided with an epoxy resin lining and a polyurethane coating at the works.

With production starting in November 2018, the order will keep the pipe bending plant busy until about May 2019. The bends will be delivered between March and early July 2019. The shipping process as a whole (provision of trucks, delivery to the construction site) is carried out under the direction of the pipe bending plant.

For further information on the ZEELINK project, visit the project company's website at www.zeelink.de (in German).