MEGAL pipeline

MEGAL pipeline
Natural gas compressor station near Weiherhammer
Location of MEGAL pipeline
Location
Country	Germany
General direction	east-west
From	Waidhaus, Oberkappel
Passes through	Schwandorf, Rothenstadt, Weiherhammer, Rimpar, Gernsheim, Mittelbrunn
To	Medelsheim
General information
Type	natural gas
Partners	Open Grid Europe GRTgaz OMV
Operator	GRTgaz Deutschland GmbH
Commissioned	1980
Technical information
Length	1,115 km (693 mi)
Maximum discharge	22 billion cubic metres per year

The MEGAL pipeline (German: Mittel-Europäische-Gasleitung) is a major natural gas pipeline system in southern Germany. It transports natural gas from the Czech–German and Austrian–German borders to the German–French border.

Construction started in 1975 when Ruhrgas and Gaz de France formed a partnership (Mittel-Europäische-Gasleitungsgesellschaft) for transportation of Russian natural gas to France and southern Germany. The pipeline was commissioned in 1980. The pipeline cost €634 million.

In July 2009, the European Commission fined GDF Suez, now Engie and E.ON €553 million each due to collusion on the MEGAL pipeline. Commission officials claimed there was a deal between the two groups’ predecessor companies – Gaz de France and Ruhrgas – not to sell gas sent via MEGAL into each other's home markets dating from the mid-1970s. The Commission alleged that the companies maintained these arrangements after European gas markets were liberalised despite knowing that the 1975 deal violated competition rules. They are the second largest fines imposed by the European Commission and the first on the energy sector. The decision is contested by both companies, who argue that the business rules in 1975 differed from those of today. In 1975, Ruhrgas and Gaz de France concluded arrangements according to which they agreed not to sell gas in each other's home market. The deal was abandoned in 2005.

The wholepipeline system is 1,115 kilometres (693 mi) long. It comprises two interconnected pipelines—MEGAL Nord and MEGAL Süd. The MEGAL Nord pipeline consists of two parallel pipelines with a length of 459 kilometres (285 mi) and 449 kilometres (279 mi) from Waidhaus to Medelsheim. It is operated at a pressure of 80 bar (1160 psi), which is secured by three compressor stations. The capacity of the pipeline is 22 billion cubic metres (777 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per year, or a little more than 60 million cubic metres (2 billion cubic feet) per day.