Russian gas giant Gazprom on Friday started laying the TurkStream gas pipeline in the deep-water area off the coast of Anapa.
The operations were launched with the command given by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the Pioneering Spirit pipe-laying vessel, according to a Gazprom statement.
“Pioneering Spirit, the world’s largest construction vessel, will have an important task to solve, namely to build the deep-water section of the TurkStream gas pipeline. This is a new direct and reliable route for Russian gas supplies to Turkey and further to southern and southeastern Europe,” said Alexey Miller , Chief Executive of Gazprom.
Hw went on to say that for Turkey natural gas was the key energy source accounting for 38 percent of the country’s electricity generation and used for heating and cooking in upward of 12 million households. TurkStream would substantially increase energy security in the region, according to Miller.
“Natural gas is of equal importance to southern and southeastern Europe. The declining indigenous gas production and the necessity to reduce coal’s share in electricity generation across the Balkan countries create the potential for sustainable growth in natural gas demand in that part of Europe,” added Miller.
TurkStream is the project for a transit-free export gas pipeline stretching across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey and further to Turkey’s border with neighboring countries.
The first string of the gas pipeline is intended for Turkish consumers, while the second string will deliver gas to southern and southeastern Europe.
Each string will have the throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas per year.