Denmark on Friday approved the permit for construction in Danish waters of the planned 10 billion cubic meters per year Baltic Pipe, which is designed to bring Norwegian gas via Denmark to Poland.
The Danish Energy Agency said in a statement that a total of 242km of the pipeline would pass through Danish waters out of its total 850km route, S&P Global reported.
An application for approval of the pipeline in Danish waters was made in January this year.
"The Danish Energy Agency finds that the offshore pipeline project can be constructed and operated without unacceptable impact on the environment and safety," it said.
The gas grid operators of Denmark and Poland -- Energinet and Gaz-System, respectively -- want construction of the pipeline to begin at the start of 2020, with completion expected in October 2022.
The approval of the permit for Baltic Pipe comes as Russia's Gazprom still awaits a similar permit allowing it to build its 55 bcm/year Nord Stream 2 pipeline through Danish waters.
Energinet and Gaz-System took the final investment decision to proceed with the Baltic Pipe project -- whose cost is estimated at up to Eur2.1 billion -- in November 2018.
The completion date is designed to coincide with the end of Poland's long-term supply contract with Gazprom.
Poland wants to eliminate the need for Russian gas imports under PGNiG's long-term, partly oil-indexed contract, arguing that the price it pays for Russian gas is too high.
