The building works of the TurkStream pipeline project on Turkish onshore part kicked off with the construction of the receiving terminal for offshore gas pipelines, South Stream Transport BV announced on Wednesday.
With the start of the onshore construction at the town of Kiyikoy, located approximately 100 kilometers west of Istanbul, the project is now being implemented in three construction areas: onshore Russia, onshore Turkey and offshore in the Black Sea, according to South Stream, the company overseeing the construction of TurkStream.
“Since 2015, surveys have been conducted to identify the best location for the facility. The results have been incorporated in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which was approved by Turkish authorities in September 2017. All necessary permits to prepare the area for construction are in place,” the statement read.
The contract for the construction of the natural gas receiving terminal was signed with Petrofac in September 2017 and the company assigned the Turkish construction company Tekfen as its main subcontractor.
The construction of the landfall facilities on the Russian side of the Black Sea, near the city of Anapa, is reaching its final stages. It is expected to be completed in 2018.
Pioneering Spirit, the world's largest construction vessel owned by Allseas, continues to work on the construction of two offshore pipelines.
The first line of the TurkStream natural gas project will reach the Turkish shore in May of this year and will start pumping gas at the end of 2019.
The TurkStream project consists of two lines, the first of which will serve Turkey with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters, while the second line is planned to serve Europe.
By Firdevs Yuksel
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr