Norway mayor sends letter to UK through gas pipeline
A Norwegian mayor has sent a letter to a British mayor through the world’s longest underwater pipeline, AFP reported on Aug. 26.
Bernhard Riksfjord, mayor of Aukra in Møre og Romsdal, dropped a box with a letter into the 800-mile Langeled pipeline at Nyhamna on August 19. The box was moved using pressurised gas.
In the letter the Norwegian mayor wished the mayor of Easington, Stuart Haywood, well and invited him to visit Aukra. The letter will be handed over during an official ceremony on Thursday, said Gassco. The event is organized to mark the first inspection of the Langeled, which started operations in October 2007.
“It is not the fastest method, nor is it the cheapest but it is certainly the most ‘underwater’ letter ever sent,” said Lisbet Kallevik, spokeswoman for Norwegian gas transport firm Gassco, which operates the pipeline.
Langeled pipeline runs through the North Sea via the Sleipner Riser platform. It is designated to bring natural gas from the Ormen Lange gas process terminal to the UK, but through the connector at Sleipner Riser it provides also an opportunity to send gas through Gassco’s existing network to continental Europe.