Norwegian gas network operator Gassco has revealed that the capacity of the Skanled gas pipeline that will connect Norway to Sweden and Denmark will probably be expanded before the venture receives its final approval, Dow Jones Newswires has reported, quoting a senior company executive.

<p>The report quoted Thor Otto Lohne, executive vice president of Gassco, as saying that as Denmark and Poland are expected to require greater gas supplies, the consortium developing Skanled may widen the pipeline&#0039;s planned diameter in order to allow more fuel to be transported.<br /><br />Indeed, according to Dow Jones Newswires, Mr Otto Lohne said that the pipeline&#0039;s currently proposed maximum flow rate of 20 million cubic meters of gas per day could be increased to between 24 million and 26 million cubic meters per day. Mr Otto Lohne is reported to have said that this could be achieved without substantial extra costs.<br /><br />The project, due to get final sanction in October 2009 and expected to be operational by October 2012, will facilitate the delivery of natural gas from Norway&#0039;s west coast to Sweden and Denmark.</p>