STAVANGER, Norway, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Norwegian energy company Statoil said Friday a pipelaying vessel passed a milestone with construction of the Polarled gas pipeline crossing the Arctic Circle.

"The Polarled gas pipeline crossed 66 degrees and 33 minutes north of the equator and became the first pipeline to cross the Arctic Circle," the company said in a statement. "This pipeline will open an entirely new gas highway from the Norwegian Sea to Europe."


Statoil started the process of laying the 300-mile long pipeline from the Aasta Hansteen natural gas field in the Norwegian Sea in March. Its aim is to cross the Arctic Circle to a gas processing plant in the northwest of the country.

It's the first large-diameter pipeline of its kind to be placed in waters of up to 4,150 feet deep and is the first pipeline to take gas across the Arctic Circle. Statoil said pipelaying vessel Solitaire is advancing the pipeline in 80-foot increments every six minutes around the clock.

Aasta Hansteen is estimated to hold between 175 billion and 300 billion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, making it one of the largest fields in the region. Once it starts, Polarled will be fed only by Aasta Hansteen, but it has the capacity to handle additional inputs.

"We have therefore installed six connection points, call it future slip roads to the new gas highway," Hakon Ivarjord, Statoil's project manager for the Polarled, said in a statement. "Polarled will open up for gas export to Europe from a completely new gas province, and with the infrastructure in place it will also be more attractive to explore the surrounding area."

Norway is among the top natural gas exporters to the European market. Natural gas discoveries last year increased by more than 240 million cubic feet.

The onshore processing terminal will be ready to receive natural gas through Polarled by 2017.