Transit of Natural Gas

ue to the long distances over which natural gas must be transported, transportation is the most demanding part of its journey from a deposit to the customer. Processed natural gas can be transmitted via pipelines or, in liquid state, by tankers.

• Pipelines – Europe is crisscrossed by a dense network of long-distance pipelines. The operating pressures in modern pipeline systems reach up to 10 MPa, and pipes often have more than one meter in diameter (for example, the Czech Republic has close to 400 kilometers of pipelines with a diameter of 1,400 millimeters). Pipelines are located on both land and sea bottom. The latter are used for transporting natural gas from deposits in North Sea or Africa to Europe.
• Tankers – This method is used for long-distance transport by sea. For example, it used for transporting compressed natural gas (CNG, PNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Algeria, Nigeria, or Australia to Europe. Natural gas is compressed or liquefied on land (reducing its volume 600 times) and transferred to a tanker. At the destination, it is pumped into reservoirs where it gradually evaporates into pipeline systems.