The 470-km long, 56-in diameter, Opal pipeline will run from Lubmin near Greifswald to Olbernhau near the German-Czech border, and is planned to connect the Nord Stream pipeline with the JAGAL (which distributes gas from the Yamal-Europe pipeline), and the STEGAL pipelines in Germany. At Olbernhau the pipeline will connect to the planned Gazela pipeline that will export gas to the Czech Republic. Opal's design capacity is put at 35bn cum/yr, and construction could be completed by 2011. The scheme will be constructed and operated by Opal NEL Transport GmbH, a subsidiary of Wingas, 20% of the which is owned by E.ON Ruhrgas. The 48-in diameter NEL pipeline, also being proposed by Opal NEL Transport GmbH, would run from Greifswald to Achim, near Rehden, and would connect the Nord Stream line with the Rehden-Hamburg gas pipeline. Wintershall, BASF's oil and gas unit, and E.ON, had applied for exemptions for two planned inland links, arguing that potential investors must be free from tariff checks and the need to give unhindered access to third parties because the pipelines would be built for transit. In its ruling, the Bundesnetzagentur generally exempts Opal from network access and transit fees regulation for 22 years after its launch, the Bonn-based authority said in a news release. For NEL, the applications were rejected, it added. "Opal is designed to transport gas via Germany to the Czech Republic, making it a genuine transit link, while NEL is due to end in Rehden, north Germany, meaning it is a purely national facility", Bundesnetzagentur president Matthias Kurth is reported to have said. He went on to say that only gas transported through Opal and identifiable as shipments destined for the Czech Republic and beyond would be free of regulation. His organization will check on shipments in Germany, and on those arriving from the Czech Republic in the other direction, he said. Mr Kurth, who added that the decision would be sent to Brussels for final agreement by the European Commission, said the decision was a clear signal in favour of linking up the Baltic Sea pipeline onshore and making a significant contribution to Europe's (gas) supply security.