Pipelaying commenced along TurkStream’s Black Sea route near Bulgarian EEZ

ISTANBUL

Pioneering Spirit has begun installing the first line of the TurkStream gas pipeline in the Black Sea area near the border of the Bulgarian Exclusive Economic Zone, the project company said in a statement on Feb. 19. 

The already-laid section of the offshore route of TurkStream is located in the pipelaying corridor approved earlier for the South Stream gas pipeline.

“At the moment, Pioneering Spirit is continuing pipelaying along the new section of the route developed for TurkStream towards the Kıyıköy settlement in accordance with the permits obtained from the Republic of Turkey,” the company noted in a statement on Feb. 19.

In total, 884 kilometers of both lines have been installed, representing about 48 percent of the offshore section of the pipeline, according to the statement.

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 line of the gas pipeline is intended for Turkish consumers, while the second line will deliver gas to southern and southeastern Europe.

Each line will 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.