Construction of the Turkish Stream pipeline slated to bring Russian gas through Turkish territory moved into official waters of Turkey.
“The Pioneering Spirit, the world’s largest construction vessel, laid into the sea the pipe sections with the Russian and Turkish flags, which symbolize crossing of the exclusive economic zone’s border between the countries," the project operator said.
The border crossing marks the end of two marine line’s construction in the Russian exclusive economic zone. In less than six months, 448 kilometers of both lines were completed, which is almost 25% of the total marine passage construction. The construction is in line with the schedule. The Turkish Stream gas pipeline project should be completed by December 2019.
The construction of the offshore section of the gas pipeline kicked off on May 7, and on June 23 the Pioneering Spirit began a deep-water pipe laying in the Black Sea.
The offshore segment of the Turkish Stream pipeline has two lines. The annual capacity of each leg is estimated to reach 15.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas and run approximately 930 kilometers through the Black Sea, from the Russian city of Anapa to the Turkish town of Kiyiköy. Gas transported through the first pipeline will be shipped to Turkey. The other pipeline will be directed towards the Turkish-European border.