Gazprom said that construction of the offshore section of the TurkStream gas pipeline in the Black Sea has been completed by the Pioneering Spirit pipelaying vessel, a month ahead of its schedule.
Image: Pioneering Spirit completes construction on offshore section of TurkStream gas pipeline. Photo: courtesy of Gazprom.
The TurkStream gas pipeline laid between Russia and Turkey through the Black Sea, comprises two strings of 930km-long pipelines with each of them designed to transport up to 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russian gas reserves.
The first string of the underwater gas pipeline will serve Turkish consumers, while the second string will transport gas to southern and southeastern Europe.
South Stream Transport, a subsidiary of Gazprom, holds the responsibility for the construction of the offshore section of the TurkStream gas pipeline. The company began its work in May 2017, which included laying of pipes in the Black Sea waters.
For both strings of the offshore section of the pipeline project, the construction contractor is Allseas Group, the owner of the Pioneering Spirit vessel. The two 32inch pipelines of the TurkStream gas pipeline enter the Black Sea waters near Anapa, on the Russian coast, and are connected ashore on the Turkish coast about 100km west of Istanbul, near Kiyikoy.
From Kiyikoy, a new underground pipeline will link the TurkStream gas pipeline to the existing network at Luleburgaz with the route to continue from there to the pipeline’s end point at the Turkish-European border.
Gazprom management committee chairman Alexey Miller revealed that construction of the inter-country gas pipeline is reaching its final stage with work well ahead of schedule.
Miller said: “The swift pace of this project can be attributed to the concerted and coordinated efforts of the project team. In late 2019, the gas pipeline will be brought into operation. It will become an additional guarantee of energy security in Turkey and the countries of southern and southeastern Europe”
As part of the project, construction of the receiving terminal is going on near Kiyikoy. Near Anapa, the landfall facilities have been built, and currently, pre-commissioning activities are being undertaken, which are expected to be wrapped up in 2018.