Gassco has awarded two contracts to IKM Gruppen for the design and development of the NOK 10 billion Skanled pipeline system. The 853km long Skanled pipe will transport gas between Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and provision will be made for possible spurs to Lista and Slagentangen in southern and SE Norway. Gassco said an investment decision on the pipeline scheme is due in October 2009, with gas deliveries planned to start in December 2012. The Skanled project also involves spending on new facilities at Rafnes south of Oslo, where ethane will be extracted from the gas for local industrial use. Under the latest contracts, IKM will pursue design activities related to the pipeline system with associated subsea structures, landfalls and receiving/metering stations. Most of this work will be done at IKM Ocean Design AS in Stavanger and Trondheim. Phase one of the work will last for a year, with options for detailed engineering of the pipeline system. The two contracts are jointly worth some NOK 50 million up to the investment decision.
