Russian gas giant Gazprom said on Monday it had completed the sea portion of the first line of the TurkStream offshore gas pipeline stretching across the Black Sea.
The average rate of the deep-water pipelay carried out by the pipelaying vessel Pioneering Spirit was 4.3 km/day, according to a Gazprom statement.
The project is being simultaneously implemented onshore in Russia and Turkey and in the Black Sea.
The receiving terminal is being constructed near the settlement of Kiyiköy, Turkey. Upon completion of the landfall sections the works on the first line will be completed.
Following the works schedule, Pioneering Spirit would continue the deep-water pipelay of Line 2 in the third quarter of 2018, Gazprom said.
“Progress is moving at a high rate. Since 7 May 2017, when we started the pipelaying campaign, the total of 1,161 km of pipes has been laid, which is 62% of the overall gas pipeline length. Needless to say, TurkStream will play a significant role in strengthening energy security of Turkey and Europe,” said Gazprom’s CEO Alexey Miller.
The first line of the gas pipeline is intended for the Turkish consumers, while the second line is designated for the Southern and South-Eastern Europe.
Each line is expected to have the throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
South Stream Transport B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, is responsible for the construction of the gas pipeline’s offshore section.