The OPAL pipeline (short for _Ostsee-Pipeline-Anbindungsleitung_) was commissioned in 2011 after two years of construction. It was designed to connect Nord Stream 1 with the existing gas pipeline network in Central Europe. The pipeline runs through the territory of the former German Democratic Republic, passing through the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Saxony.
Apart from its entry point in Lubmin near Greifswald (which it shares with the NEL pipeline, launched in 2013 to transport gas to western Germany), OPAL was also designed to have physical connections with the JAGAL pipeline (the German extension of Yamal), STEGAL, and the Ontras network, as well as with the Czech Gazelle pipeline. OPAL has a capacity of 36.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year, with a diameter of 1400 mm and pipe wall thickness of approximately 22 mm. Its operating pressure reaches up to 100 bar.
