The entire pipeline system for Gazprom’s TurkStream project in the Black Sea has been completed following connections between TurkStream offshore section and landfalls. TurkStream is a project for a gas pipeline stretching across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey and further to Turkey’s border with neighboring countries.
Specifically, the part that connects offshore and nearshore sections of TurkStream was completed, highlighting the finalization of the pipeline system.
The procedure ‘Above water tie-in’ consisted of retrieving the nearshore and offshore pipeline from the seabed, lifting them above water and welding them together. Now, there’s a physical connection between the landfall facility near the Russian city of Anapa and the Receiving Terminal near Kiyikoy in Turkish Thrace.
The overall weight lifted for the operation was about 409 tonnes.
This operation was conducted on both lines in Russian waters in January and February, and near the Turkish coast in March.
Pioneering Spirit, the world’s biggest construction vessel, carried out the pipelaying in deep waters, whereas the shallow-water pipelaying was conducted by Lorelay.
Russkaya Compressor Station, which will provide the pressure needed for the gas to traverse through the Black Sea, and the Anapa landfall facility of the TurkStream pipeline system are already complete and on stand-by.
After completing the Receiving Terminal in Kiyikoy in 2019, Turkstream will be ready to operate.
Moreover, natural gas flows are scheduled to begin by the end of 2019.
Concluding, the first line of the gas pipeline is for the Turkish consumers. The second is planned for the Southern and South-Eastern Europe.
Each line will have the throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
