| Central Europe Pipeline System | |
|---|---|
CEPS pipeline marker near Untergruppenbach in Germany |
|
| Location | |
| Country | Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands |
| Passes through | Marseilles, Lyon, Langres, Nancy, Zweibrücken, Amsterdam, Liège, Trier, Karlsruhe, Le Havre, Dunkirk, Cambrai, Aachen, Rheims, Belfort, Aalen, Leipheim |
| General information | |
| Type | Oil products |
| Owner | NATO |
| Operator | Central Europe Pipeline Management Agency |
| Commissioned | 1959 |
| Technical information | |
| Length | 6,300 km (3,900 mi) |
The Central Europe Pipeline System (alternatively Central European Pipeline System), or CEPS for short, is one of several NATO Pipeline Systems and is used to deliver fuel for air and ground vehicles around Europe. Originally conceived for military purposes, it was to aid in safe and quick distribution of fuel for military purposes around Europe. The system consists of around 6,300 kilometres (3,900 mi) of pipeline running through Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Besides these host countries, the system is also used by the United States military.[1]
Main feeder routes are:
A similar system exists for the Northern European countries, known as the Northern European Pipeline System.
The pipeline system was founded in the late 1950s by NATO being funded as part of the NATO Common Infrastructure Program, with the various participating countries already having some of the infrastructure and capabilities required to operate such a system.
In the 1980s the pipeline was attacked several times by terrorist organizations. The Belgian communist terrorist organisation Communist Combatant Cells carried out five bombings against the pipeline on 11 December 1984, and one more attack on 6 December 1985. Earlier that year, in April 1985, a bomb attack was carried out against a part of the pipeline in Southern-Germany by Red Army Faction sympathisers.[3][4]
At the end of the cold war the system was significantly reduced as various military airports that used the system were closed, such as Bitburg Air Base. However, in some other places expansion of the pipeline continued and in October 2008 construction of 80 kilometres (50 mi) of additional pipeline was completed between Aalen and Leipheim.[5]
Since 1959 excess capacity of the pipeline may be used by civilian users. Currently, around 90% of the fuel transported through the system is for civilian users, customers including various large European airports such as Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Brussels Airport, Frankfurt am Main Airport, Luxembourg-Findel International Airport and Zürich Airport.