naturgas

2011/06/17

Naturgas Energía opens the Serinyà-Figueres gas pipeline at a cost of 9 million euros

• The pipeline connects Figueres to the gas grid and ensures a safer supply. It also eliminates the high lorry traffic as a liquid natural gas (LNG) plant, that also supplied Vilafant, has been closed. The pipeline will supply gas to a further two municipalities, Navata and Santa Llogaia D'Àlguema.
• Great importance was given to environmental aspects when working on the infrastructure and significant sums were invested in preventive actions, such as the underground bypassing of the River Fluviá and the landscape restoration of the whole section at the end of the work.
• This is the second major Naturgas Energía project in the zone and follows on from the Figueres network replacement master plan involving an investment of a further 6 million euros.

Figueres (Girona), 17 June 2011.- Naturgas Energía today officially opened the Serinyà-Figueres Secondary Transport Gas Pipeline, which is 23 kilometres long and involved an investment of 9 million euros, during a ceremony attended by the General Director for Energy, Mines and Safety of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Josep Canos i Ciurana; the Deputy Mayor of Figueres Town Council, Manuel Toro; and the Chairman of Naturgas Energía Transporte and Naturgas Energía Distribución, Juan Ramón Arraibi.

The objective of the infrastructure was to improve the safety of the supply by connecting the town of Figueres to the natural gas grid, which also meant that a liquid natural gas (LNG) plant could be dismantled, which previously supplied both the town and the neighbouring one of Vilafant.

The gas pipeline has also meant that the municipalities of Navata and Santa Llogaia D'Àlguema are now connected to the gas grid.

The infrastructure is ten inches in diameter and has three valve positions at Serinyà, Navata and Vilafant, along with three metering and adjusting stations in the same towns.

Importance of respecting the environment

Great importance was given to environmental aspects when carrying out the work. The dismantling of the LNG plant in 2010 was one of the main achievements of the new infrastructure and reduced traffic by around 500 lorries a year, which transported the liquid natural gas to the plant.

The gas pipe bypassed the route of the River Fluviá by means of a 205-metre underground perforation. Naturgas Energía assumed an additional cost over 200,00 euros to carry out this complex and spectacular technical operation to preserve the river bed intact and which was four-times more expensive the standard cost per meter.

The River Fluviá is a watercourse that boasts a great environmental wealth, both in the river itself, which is home to a variety of underwater life, and in the dense vegetation on the river bank, where beavers and other species live. The underground perforation means that the river has been left untouched and no impact on the landscape was noted.

The pipeline also crossed many over rivers and fast-flowing brooks, such as Riera dÁlguema, Riera San Jaume and Riera de Turbany. Crossing these waterways involved protecting the river courses and then replanting the banks with trees and shrubs, hydro-seeds and ecological meshing to hold the land in place.

Another difficulty faced was the cross the different roads, where the pipeline had to be taken underground. The longest was 80 metres and was under the AP-7 toll motorway.

The project complied with the provisions regarding these crossings established by the responsible authorities, including the Catalan Water Agency, the Catalan Regional Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry for Development and the regional and provincial council highways departments.

After the construction work was completed, an environmental restoration project was undertaken for the whole surface area affected, with a special emphasis on the areas where the pipes crossed the water courses.

The restoration work in the river bank zones consisted of planting over 3,000 plants, including native species of trees and shrubs, along with biological engineering actions to stabilise the steep slopes, using hydro-seeds and organic blankets.

Forestry actions were also undertaken in pine and holm oak groves, where many different saplings of both species were planted, along with oak, elm, ash, alder, cypress, olive and poplar trees, using different techniques according to each zone. The plantations were then regularly watered to ensure that as many plants as possible survived.

Second major Naturgas Energía project in Girona

This is the second major project that Naturgas Energía has undertaken in the zone to enhance the quality and safety of the supply, since Gas Figueres joined the group. The first was the Figueres network replacement master plan, which consisted of replacing the old pipes by new polyethylene ones, which involved an investment of six million euros.

Naturgas Energía

Naturgas Energía supplies gas and electricity to companies and private customers, and is present with its own infrastructure in new Autonomous Communities: the Basque Country, Asturias, Cantabria, Catalonia, Castilla y León, Extremadura, Madrid, Murcia and Navarra. The Group, which is the second gas distributor on the Spanish market, is also the second gas carrier. It also markets gas and electricity, and is the third marketer in terms of number of customers.

Naturgas Energía is the leader in the gas sector in the Basque Country, Asturias, Cantabria and Murcia, and the second electricity operation in the Basque Autonomous Community. With a turnover of 1,331 million euros in and a net profit of 68 million in 2010, its pipeline network covers 10,000 kilometres and the company is part of HC Energía, in the EDP Group.