TurkStream gas pipeline to reach Turkish shore in May

The first line of the TurkStream natural gas project will reach the Turkish shore in May of this year and will be in service at the end of 2019, the project management team told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview on Friday.

With the aid of the world's largest construction vessel, the Pioneering Spirit, the two-parallel pipeline project, which consists of pipe production, offshore and onshore pipe laying and a receiving terminal, is set for a spring launch.

The first line is intended for the Turkish market, while the second targets gas supplies to countries in southern and southeastern Europe. 

South Stream, which is a subsidiary of Gazprom, the major Russian partner in the project, will build the offshore section of the project.

"It will be in May that the first line will reach the Turkish shore. After that, the vessel [Pioneering Spirit] will have another job. Then, it will return to the Black Sea to work on the second line of the TurkStream. We expect that it will return in the third quarter to the Black Sea and then continue with the launch," TurkStream’s spokesman Sander van Rootselaar said.

According to Van Rootselaar, the project's total capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas will meet the annual energy demands of 15 million households.

The project will be able to produce the equivalent of 126,000 wind turbines and 39 nuclear units.

"That's a massive amount of energy to be allocated to Turkish and European energy markets," Van Rootselaar said.

Describing the project as "a very major contribution to energy security," he expects that with the project, Turkey will become a key supply link for southern and southeastern Europe.

Candidates for European part

Van Rootselaar confirmed that the construction of 700 kilometres out of a total of 1,860 kilometres of the two lines of the subsea section of the project had been completed.

With the advanced technology of the Pioneering Spirit, the vessel is equipped to deliver four kilometres of pipe laying daily, even in harsh weather conditions, and has also reached records of more than five kilometres per day.

"We have seen that the speed of pipe laying of Pioneering Spirit is faster than we expected. It is the first pipe laying job of this vessel," he said.

"We have increased the number of supply vessels in order to supply enough pipes to deliver four kilometres each day and even with records of over five kilometres," he added.

The official said negotiations with Greece and Bulgaria for the European side of the project were ongoing and the parties were making good progress.

"There is a positive vibe surrounding the project," he said, with Serbia and Hungary showing interest for participation at a governmental level.

"Before we deliver the first gas to Turkey at the end of 2019, a decision should be made about the second line," he added.