HELSINKI, February 15. /TASS/. Gasgrid Finland, operator of the Balticconnector gas pipeline, expects its operation to be resumed by the previously scheduled date of April 22, 2024, the company said in statement.

"The estimated commissioning date of the pipeline is 22 April 2024, provided that the soon-to-begin repair works can be carried out as planned," the statement says.

Gasgrid Finland has been following the development of the ice conditions in the Gulf of Finland, and according to current assessments, the ice situation does not cause an immediate obstacle to the start of the repair works. The planned duration of the repair works is approximately 4 weeks, after which an inspection can be carried out, and the pipeline can be recommissioned, the company announced.

The operation of the undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was suspended on October 8, 2023 due to a suspected leak. Finnish authorities said at a press conference on October 10 that the damage to the gas pipeline was likely the result of external interference.

The Balticconnector pipeline connects the gas systems of Finland and Estonia. Its total length is 151 km, including 77 km along the bottom of the Gulf of Finland. The underwater part stretches between the city of Inkoo (Uusimaa region, southern part of Finland) and Paldiski (Harjumaa county, northern part of Estonia). The pipeline’s capacity is 2.6 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Gas runs through a single pipe both in the northern and southern directions.