Imatra – the gateway of natural gas
to Finland

At the moment all the natural gas consumed in Finland is imported from the Western-Siberian natural gas fields of Yamburg and Urengoy in Russia, some 3,300 km from the Finnish-Russian border. This journey takes around a week to complete. The Western-Siberian gas fields are the richest in the world, and the natural gas obtained is very pure. It consists mainly of methane and only has small amounts of other particles. The gas is sold by the Russian gas company Gazprom.

Gazprom's subsidiary Gazprom transgaz Saint-Petersburg is in charge of gas transmission in the Leningrad Oblast and therefore also of the supply of gas to Finland. Located north of St Petersburg, the Severnaya compressor station helps speed up the journey of gas to Finland.

The volume of the natural gas entering Finland is measured and its quality is monitored at a reception station in Imatra, Finland.

Natural gas transmission

The transmission of natural gas is secured by the existence of at least two pipelines all the way from Siberia to Finland. In Finland the network of parallel pipelines stretches from the eastern border to Niinikoski in Orimattila, and plans are underway for Gasum to extend it from Orimattila to Mäntsälä.

The westernmost point of the Finnish natural gas transmission pipeline is in Kyröskoski, Ikaalinen. The number of natural gas users along Gasum's 1,200km transmission pipeline totals around 200.

Compressor stations speed up the journey of natural gas along the transmission network. Gasum's compressor stations are located in Imatra, Kouvola and Mäntsälä.