Croatia’s gas transmission system operator Plinacro adopted a ten-year development plan to construct and modernise its gas transmission system, to be undertaken in three phases from 2002 to 2011. The second phase involved the construction of gas pipelines across three separate regions – central and eastern Croatia, the Pula Karlovac region, and the Lika and Dalmazia regions.

The 113 km Pula – Karlovac section was constructed in 2006 and connects the north Adriatic gas fields to Croatia’s gas pipeline system. The new pipeline enables the supply of Adriatic gas to the Croatian market, and opens up the possibility of gasification of the Istarska, Primorso-Goranska, and Karlovacka areas. A connection to the proposed Lika and Dalmazia gas pipeline is also planned.

Italian pipeline construction company Ghizzoni completed construction works on the Vodnjan – Umag pipeline, in the Pula Karlovac region, in late January, and has now commenced construction works in the Lika and Dalmazia region, while the pipeline activities in the central and eastern region are currently in the development phase.

Vodnjan – Umag gas pipeline

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Ghizzoni had to overcome challenging engineering conditions including the crossing of the Limski canal, which extends 15 km inland from the Adriatic Sea.

The crossing point, with a width of 860 m and a maximum depth of 36m, was chosen to have the minimum environmental and technical impact, and the crossing was undertaken using a towed plough to bury the prefabricated pipe as it was pulled across the canal. Three parallel pipeline sections, each approximately 300m long, were initially set on rollers on one bank of the canal at spacings of between 10 and 18 m.

The pipeline pull-back was carried out using a Tesmec CO 3543 electric-powered winch with 40 tonne pull-back capacity. At the conclusion of pull-back operations, Ghizzoni carried out non-destructive tests on the welded joints and the coating, a preliminary hydraulic test, and a caliper pig run, to ensure the integrity of the installed pipeline.

Construction commences on Lika and Dalmazia tranmission systems

Ghizzoni commenced construction on sections 2 and 3 of the Lika and Dalmazia gas transmission system on 1 November 2009, comprising 175 km of transmission pipeline to be constructed in the region.

Sections 2 and 3 will allow the Lika-Senj area to be connected to the main Croatian pipeline system, enabling gasification of a large part of the region and a subsequent decrease in its reliance on electric power. Construction of these sections is scheduled to be completed by 31 October 2010.